1. Equalities in Apprenticeships: Our Approach
RESTRICTED - Policy
Equalities in Apprenticeships: Our Approach
11 January 2017
Sue Arrand, Apprenticeships Directorate

2. OBJECTIVES - Growing diversity in apprenticeships
We are committed to making sure apprenticeships are as accessible as possible, to all people, from all backgrounds.
Apprenticeships are a great route to a future career. It is important that everyone has fair access to them.
The government has set an ambitious target of reaching 3 million apprenticeship starts by To achieve this target, we need to encourage and enable as many high quality candidates as possible to apply for and start apprenticeships.
We can’t control employers’ recruitment decisions.
But what we can do is make sure that people with additional needs have the support they need to compete for an apprenticeship; and support employers in making fair recruitment decisions and help them overcome any additional barriers they might have to starting an apprenticeship.

3. Growing diversity in apprenticeships
The focus for Apprenticeships Directorate is:
Encourage diversity in applications from apprentices.
Encouraging diversity in recruitment.
Supporting those who have additional needs to succeed in apprenticeships.
Work with colleagues, OGDs and external partners to ensure that when wider policy is developed, they consider apprenticeships and have access to information about them.
Increasing the breadth and depth of our knowledge about how problems in equality and diversity extend into apprenticeships.

4. EVIDENCE - Who are our apprentices?
Learning Difficulties and Disabilities
Overall Participation
In 2013/14, of the people starting an apprenticeship declared that they had a Learning Difficulty or Disability (LDD). This was 8.7% of the total starts.
In 2014/15 that increased to – 8.8% of total starts.
Barriers to participation
Evidence submitted by stakeholders earlier in 2016 showed that a number of different things stop more people with LDD doing an apprenticeship:
For Individuals
For Employers
For Providers
English and Maths requirements
Lack of awareness and aspiration to apprenticeships (and low awareness of available support)
Difficulty demonstrating competency in the job through the ways it’s measured.
Lack of flexibility and struggle with uncertainty
Lack of preparation and support
Lack of awareness and understanding
Non-inclusive recruitment practices
Funding complexity
Demand outstrips supply
Lack of impairment awareness and expertise
Complexity in types of programme they can offer to different groups
Low spread of best practice.

5. EVIDENCE - Who are our apprentices?
Learning Difficulties and Disabilities
There is a large amount of variation in the type of disability that apprentices have.
In 2014/ apprentices (4.3% of all apprentices) told us about the type of disability they had. This data shows that:
Significantly the largest group ( apprentices) said they had an ‘Other Medical Condition (For Example Epilepsy, Asthma, Diabetes)’. The second largest group (6070 apprentices) reported their type of disability as ‘other’.
Next largest were visual impairment (3680 apprentices) and hearing impairment (2700 apprentices)
Between 2013/14 and 2014/15, the number of apprentices declaring a mental health condition went up by 40%.
Less then 1500 apprentices reported having each of: Aspergers Syndrome; Emotional/Behavioural Difficulties; Disability Affecting Mobility; Other Physical Disabilities; Multiple Disabilities.
In 2014/15, apprentices (5.1% of all apprentices) told us about the type of learning difficulty they had. This data shows us that:
The largest group by a significant margin was apprentices with dyslexia ( apprentices)
7440 apprentices reported having a moderate learning difficulty, which was 5.9% less than the year before, even though overall there were more apprentices.
1060 apprentices reported having dyscalculia.
Less than 1000 apprentices reported having each of: Severe Learning Difficulty; Multiple Learning Difficulties; Autism Spectrum Disorder.
4550 apprentices reported having either ‘other’ or ‘other specific learning difficulty’.
This shows less variation than in the type of disability, but still a wide range of conditions.

6. CURRENT – What are we already doing to help?
1 Funding for apprentices with additional needs
The current funding approach provides enhanced funding for apprentices aged They are funded at around twice the rate of those aged 19 or over. The same funding that’s applied to year olds is also available for apprentices:
Aged 19 – 24 (inclusive) with an Education, Health and Care (EHC) plan.
Aged 19 – 24, who have been in the care of the Local Authority.
Providers can also claim Learning Support funding to meet the additional needs of learners with a LDD and meet the costs of reasonable adjustments as set out in the Equality Act 2010.   Providers can also apply for Exceptional Learning Support if support costs exceed £19,000 in any one funding year. Apprentices with a disability can also claim Access to Work from DWP, to support them in the workplace.
Under our proposals for new funding arrangements when the levy is introduced:
Employers and providers who train an apprentice aged years old should each receive £1,000
Where an employer has fewer than 50 people working for them and trains an apprentice aged 16-18, the government will pay 100% of the training costs, waiving any co-investment requirement on the employer.
The same funding (as for year olds) will be available to employers and providers training an apprentice aged with an EHC plan.
The same funding will be available to employers and providers training an apprentice aged 19 – 24, who has been in the care of the Local Authority.
Learning support will also continue as in the current model.

7. CURRENT – What are we already doing to help?
2 Study Programmes
Traineeships
Traineeships are targeted at people who are up to 6 months away from the labour market and so may not be suitable for the groups furthest from being ‘job ready’.
Data shows good representation amongst trainees.
19.7% of trainee starts in 2014/15 reported having LDD.
Supported Internships (wider DfE policy)
Supported internships provide a higher level of support than a traineeship through an extended work placement with one to one support from a job coach. They are aimed at young people further away from the labour market, though still with the aim of employment at the end of the programme.
They are currently for young people with an Education, Health and Care (EHC) plan, or Statement of Special Education Needs.

8. CURRENT – What are we already doing to help?
3 Recent activity
Taskforce on Apprenticeships for people with learning disabilities
In May – June 2016 we supported a taskforce led by Paul Maynard MP, commissioned jointly by the Minister for Disabled People and Minister for Skills. They focussed specifically on issues faced by people with learning disabilities, but the recommendations they made will affect a broader group of disabled apprentices.
Recommendations were all were all accepted by Ministers and published on 11 July. Work has already begun on implementation.
Mental Health
We are working with DWP to pilot a phone service called ‘supporting apprentices’ for apprentices with mental health conditions. It is available to all apprentices, though the pilot only promotes it in certain locations, to create a control group to compare outcomes for.

9. THE FUTURE – Where we want to do more
Looking ahead our priorities are:
1. Implement the recommendations made by Paul Maynard’s taskforce on Access to Apprenticeships for people with Learning Disabilities. The priority areas are:-
Better communications on the support available, particularly of the funding and financial support available, and the positive business benefits of taking on someone with LDD, using case studies and role models to encourage employers to drive demand and increase supply. We want to use existing channels such as the current `Get In Go Far` apprenticeship communications campaign, the DWP Disability Confident Campaign and the future Mental Health apprenticeship champions network.
Adjusting the minimum standard of English and Maths required (to entry level 3) for a defined group of apprentices with learning difficulties and disabilities who are able to meet the occupational standard but will struggle to achieve English and maths qualifications at the level normally required.
Trialling /evaluating incentives in the new funding model introduced from May 2017 to see how this might be flexed to incentivise employers to recruit apprentices with learning disabilities.
2. Consistently communicate tailored messaging to specific underrepresented groups, as a secondary part of the Get In Go Far Campaign.
The primary messaging of the campaign is already broad reaching and inclusive. We’ve done bespoke secondary activity for BAME audiences and are planning this activity for LDD apprentices.