#CIHCareersWeek: the apprenticeship game

To see how the changes are bedding in, Inside Housing surveyed housing associations across the UK, asking about apprentice intake numbers, the business areas in which they are being placed and the extent to which landlords are managing to invest their levy.

Sixty-two providers – most based in England – responded, presenting us with a picture of a sector still figuring out how the new system can be put to use effectively.

Almost two-thirds of respondents said they would either be increasing (40%) or maintaining (21%) the numbers of apprentices directly taken on within their businesses between the 2016/17 and 2017/18 financial years.

Less than a quarter (23%) said they would be reducing their intake, while 16% couldn’t say.

There have not yet been any government statistics about apprentice starts or recruitment rates since the levy came in. But our figures fit “anecdotal” trends reported by training providers, says Ms Sweeney.

“It seems clear that if you’re a levy-paying employer [as almost all survey respondents are], you are interested in hiring apprentices and using your levy credit,” she explains. “You are recycling a tax bill into your organisation.”

It’s still early days, though. As a number of landlords point out, the rise and fall of year-to-year intake can be affected by other factors.

At 20,000-home New Charter Group, for instance, 22 apprentices came aboard in 2016/17, while only 10 are expected to do so in 2017/18.

“Our numbers dropped in 2015/16 due to the impact of the rent cut, so we looked to make up for this with larger numbers in 2016/17,” explains the organisation’s talent manager Catherine Bentley. “However, as these apprentices are still with us, we had insufficient funds to bring in a large number of new ones this financial year.

“We anticipate looking to increase numbers again next year as the 2016/17 cohort transition into permanent jobs and as part of our wider workforce planning.”

Succession planning was an issue raised by a number of landlords.

“This is a modern way of getting people into the business.”

“[We have a] policy of expanding our apprenticeship offer beyond trade skills into areas around business administration, customer service and others,” says Bob Wilkey, head of HR at 16,000-home Plymouth Community Homes.

His employer, which unusually has its own windows, joinery and metal fabrication factory, increased its apprentice intake from nine in 2016/17 to 13 in 2017/18.

“With the levy upon us, it encourages you to look at [long-term] opportunities for filling more positions on an apprentice basis,” Mr Wilkey adds.

At least two associations that responded to our survey have seen fit to temporarily suspend their apprenticeship programmes in order to refine plans for the new operating landscape.

“We put our scheme on hold over 2016/17 so we could take time to better understand the levy and what effect it would have on us,” says Jodie Harris, learning and talent development manager at 21,000-home Catalyst.

“We used this time as an opportunity to review our apprenticeship scheme. We wanted to ensure we were offering roles that were right for our new apprentices and right for the organisation.”

The importance of those considerations is made clear by respondents’ answers to the question of how much of their apprenticeship levy for 2017/18 they anticipated spending.

A third (33%) said they would not be drawing down all of the money, while a further 23% were unsure whether they would be doing so.

A number of providers cite lack of capacity as a reason for this. The levy can only be spent on training, not wages, and with many apprenticeships costing only £2,000-£3,000, some associations said spending it all would mean recruiting to the point that either their wage bill or their ability to supervise newcomers would be overstretched.

An extreme case is highlighted by Katie Rankin, qualifications and apprenticeships manager at Anchor, England’s largest not-for-profit provider of older people’s housing and care. The organisation has 8,500 staff, 70% in care roles, and its levy – £860,000 – dwarfs that of most other survey respondents.

“We are passionate about apprenticeships and know they work well for the business [and result in lower staff turnover],” says Ms Rankin. “But to fully utilise our levy would mean taking on about 450 a year – that’s a lot to put through our locations.”

Employers have up to two years to spend levy funds, after which the government has said they will be recycled for others to use.

Anchor’s response, like many other employers, is to funnel a chunk of levy towards professional development of existing staff. In its case, that’s by looking at converting its management development programme to apprenticeships.

“Any development of individuals is positive and if that’s through degree-level apprenticeships, fine,” says Vanessa Howell, head of professional standards at the Chartered Institute of Housing (CIH).

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But, she adds, it’s important to remember that the new system demands that an apprenticeship services a “significant change” to an existing staffer’s role, rather than just being an add-on.

“A promotion is an ideal time – you change your job and need to develop new skills, knowledge and behaviours,” Ms Howell adds.

Some housing associations, though, are managing to spend their levy almost exclusively on new recruits. Perhaps unsurprisingly, these tend to be organisations in which the process of taking on apprentices is already firmly
embedded.

“We take more apprentices per year [25 in 2016/17 and 2017/18] than many similar-scale providers because we have a target that they make up 10% of the workforce,” says Tim Edwards, head of regeneration at 8,500-home Aspire.

“Sometimes we need to take a step forward and learn as we go.”

“We would already have been in a place to exceed our levy payments, because of the numbers of apprentices we have historically taken,” adds Mr Edwards, who is also the director of business development for Aspire’s in-house training provider PM Training.

Debra Beattie, head of organisational development at 14,000-home Bernicia, and Barbara Spicer, chief executive of 13,500-home Plus Dane, echo Mr Edwards’ words. Both say the levy has had little impact on their apprentice intakes, which are driven by business need (meaning their salaries are planned for) and to offer long-term opportunities for people.

But with that in mind, the new rules and standards offer various ways for employers to target their levy.

“You’re looking at massive differences in [training] costs for apprenticeships,” says Ms Beattie. “You take on a business administration apprentice and it costs less than £3,000, but take on a finance apprentice and it’s £9,000; an IT apprentice and it’s £18,000.”

Ms Spicer adds that Plus Dane is recruiting a business analyst apprentice, a level 4 standard (equivalent to a certificate of higher education) that again comes with an £18,000 price tag. “This is a really modern way of getting people into the business,” she says. “We like our apprentices to carry on – the intention is for them to keep going as high as they can.”

Plus Dane and Bernicia are also offering apprenticeships based on the new housing standards, in common with many landlords that responded to our survey. Ms Bentley says New Charter Group is exploring using them as a progression route for business administration apprentices.

“We like our apprentices to carry on – the intention is for them to keep going as high as they can," Barbara Spicer

“Through our work with other Greater Manchester providers, we’re also looking to bring together cohorts of local housing apprentices so they can learn from each other in addition to their formal development,” Ms Bentley says.

She adds that New Charter Group has joined a working group of 14 Greater Manchester landlords (Manchester Athena, set up to deliver training, employment and initiatives to deal with the impact of public sector reforms) that will go to market collectively to source training provision for 17 apprenticeship standards.

Several associations we speak to mention that they have struggled to access training for certain standards, either because of their location or their small numbers of enrollees. It’s an avenue others may look to explore. Working in partnership with other organisations, says the CIH’s Ms Howell, is a good way to prevent “inertia” in the face of a changed world.

“Sometimes we just need to take a step forward and learn as we go,” she says. “Everything won’t be perfect straight up, but I feel positive the industry is moving in the right direction – we need to support each other, in a clear way, to do so.”