This month heralded the end of the catchily-named Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education, as the erstwhile keeper and maintainer of occupational standards handed over its responsibilities to Skills England on 1 June.   

Since 2017, IfATE was the employer-led organisation responsible for identifying industry skills gaps, and, as the convener of trailblazers, collaborated with employers to develop occupational standards to meet those gaps using apprenticeships.   

So it will certainly be a change, then, as Skills England takes the reins of apprenticeships. As an executive agency of the Department for Education (DfE), the government will likely take a more active role in apprenticeship development. This has provide a controversial decision, as IfATE, being, in contrast, a crown-status non-departmental public body, was accountable only to the King and so was left largely to its own devices when working with employers.   

Many in apprenticeship-land remember IfATE’s tumultuous genesis. It was born amid the mass overhaul of apprenticeships following the Richard Review – facing a barrage of criticisms from employers wary of the then-new apprenticeship levy and training provider concerned over changes required of them. It was famously called a complete shambles by the then-Shadow Minister for Skills before it even opened its doors.  

Keen not to repeat that, ATAC is looking to the opportunities that Skills England presents. Apprenticeships feature significantly in their new report on the growth and skills offer, released this month, with a focus on making apprenticeship standards more adaptable to meet with changing technology, and seeking to address reticence among small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to invest in apprenticeships due to their limited capacity to deal with the administrative burden of taking an apprenticeship on. The plan to begin introducing shorter-duration apprenticeships is also interesting for us, as many organisations in our industries cannot necessarily predict where they will be even in a few years’ time.   

Certainly, as an apprenticeship scheme straddling a number of industries, all of which are subject to frequent technological change, heavily populated by SMEs that are often unable (though often not unwilling) to take on long-term apprentices, ATAC sees plenty of opportunity in Skills England’s new reign. Although IfATE will be forever in our hearts, we look to the future with interest.