No 16-18 Apprenticeship funding shortages, says NAS
Providers are drawing a sigh of relief after being told there are presently no funding reasons to turn away any 16-18 Apprenticeship.
David Way, the deputy chief executive of the National Apprenticeship Service (NAS), which is responsible for Apprenticeships in England, responded to reports that providers have been unable to access funding across certain Learning and Skills Council (LSC) regions.
"The recruitment of 16-18 Apprentices in employment is our top priority for funding. The NAS’s response to providers will be to see how we can work with LSC colleagues to make the funding available to providers who have employer demand for Apprentices. This must be a managed process through the LSC but at present there should be no funding reasons to turn away any 16-18 Apprenticeship opportunities with employers," said Mr Way.
His comments came at a Tripartite meeting this week of Sector Skills Council, Association of Learning Providers and Association of Colleges Skills Champions.
The Tripartite group welcomed the funding availability confirmation, and looking forward to greater transparency in the reconciliation process.
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