Report of the Director of HROD

This report provides an update on the Council’s apprenticeship strategy and activity since the introduction of the apprenticeship levy.

 The Sub Group considered the report of the Director of Human Resources and Organisational Development that provided an update on the Council’s apprenticeship strategy and activity since the introduction of the apprenticeship levy.

Officers referred to the main points and themes within the report which included: -

·                A background to the levy, introduced on all employers with employee pay bills in excess of 3 million pounds, equivalent to 0.5% of their payroll spend;

·                A description of the five principles that had been agreed to guide the Council’s apprenticeship strategy;

·                Noting that over the past 19 months the Council had seen a total of 254 employees accessing apprenticeship opportunities, committing circa. £1.6M of our Levy pot to the development of new and existing staff;

·                The promotion of apprenticeships as an option for all, and not simply a route for ‘young people’;

·                The development of peer support that was available to apprentices and their managers to ensure that individuals successfully complete their training and maximise the broader opportunities this brought;

·                An overview of activities in relation to recruiting apprentices to vacant posts, apprenticeships as main source of accredited training, releasing employees for training and promoting apprentice opportunities as widely as possible;

·                The work undertaken at a Greater Manchester level to support the development of new and emerging standards linked to organisational workforce development priorities and promoting the apprenticeship agenda across Greater Manchester; 

·                An update on the uptake of apprenticeships from Community Schools; and

·                An update on the transfer of apprenticeship funds.

Some of the key points that arose from the Members’ discussions were:-

·                Clarification was sought regarding the number of Manchester residents employed as an apprentice;

·                Was it practical to release staff to undertake ‘block’ training to fulfil the 20% protected learning requirement;

·                How did our apprenticeship scheme compare to other schemes;

·                Noting that the preferred term was ‘Our Children’ and what alternatives to formal interviews were considered for people with support needs; and

·                An assurance was sought regarding the completion of the electronic form that was completed by managers and submitted to the Resourcing Team to request a vacancy to be filled were reviewed.

The Head of Workforce Strategy responded by informing the Group that the information of the number of apprentices that were Manchester residents within the report related to new recruits only and that a full overview of all apprentices would be circulated to the Group.

In response to the question regarding teaching qualifications the Head of Workforce Strategy stated that currently a teaching qualification was not available and the apprenticeships related to support roles, such as teaching assistants.

In regard to the 20% training requirement, the Head of Workforce Strategy commented that a flexible approach would always be taken to fulfil this commitment, noting that it may not always require a formal academic setting, for example if time was required to complete a project. He said this provision was monitored to ensure it was appropriate. He commented that apprenticeship providers across the city had been very flexible and had worked closely with the Council to meet the demands of each particular cohort of apprentices to ensure they received quality learning and maximised opportunities.

He commented that discussions were ongoing with partners and contractors through the procurement process to maximise the apprenticeship offer and the support available to them. He said that this activity, to increase apprenticeship positions would also reduce the risk that a proportion of the Council’s levy pot may begin to be clawed back from July 2020. He said this would be closely monitored in conjunction with the Work and Skills Team to ensure it benefited Manchester residents. In answer to a question from a Member he said other organisations such as housing providers could be considered to maximise the use of the levy allocation. 

In response to the comment regarding alternatives to a formal interview the Head of Workforce Strategy said that he acknowledged the point raised by the Member. He said discussions were ongoing with the Equalities Lead to progress this to ensure that the recruitment and selection process was inclusive and flexible, and that the appropriate assessment processes were used.

The Head of Workforce Strategy advised the group that there were examples of apprenticeships at a high grade but commented that they continued to monitor this, in addition to supporting and developing entry level apprenticeships. He further commented that the electronic forms submitted were reviewed and challenged if necessary, in addition these requests would be further reviewed as part of each directorate budget review process when requests for posts were submitted. The Group requested that information on this activity be included in any future update reports.

Decision

The Sub Group:-

1. Requests an update report in six months’ time.

2. Recommends that Best Value and Social Value was applied when transferring any funds to another employer for use in funding apprentices training.

3. Requests that a future update reports to include information on the number of Our Children employed as apprentices

4. Noting that the Group would structure future meetings in a thematic way, when a directorate was considered, comparative information would be provided on the number and grades of apprentices employed.