Institute of Apprenticeships - details emerge

The putative head of the new Institute for Apprenticeships has given more details on what the new standards body will look like. Speaking to the parliamentary sub committee

Speaking to MPs, Lauener said the Institute will likely have around 60 staff, with a running cost of approximately £8m per year. However he also said that “The number of staff will need to build up as the additional responsibilities – subject to the department – are added, and that will probably be another 30 or so staff.”

Lauener was giving evidence to the committee on Technical and Further Education Bill. the committee also heard from Association of Colleges’ chief executive David Hughes, who called for greater clarity over changes to the funding structures currently in place

“We’ve had a blizzard of changes over the last 10 years, 15 years perhaps, and that causes my members and others to be cautious about the investment that they make,” he told the committee. “And I think that’s the biggest risk to all of this – the lack of certainty to the future,” he warned.

Hughes also told MPs that the levels of funding were critical. “If we want a high quality offer at 16 to 18, which we do, we need to get the investment right,” he said.