LGV training gets a boost

Warehouse operative

The revised Warehouse Operative Apprenticeship is to be submitted to IFATE for approval on 5 July. A funding review is currently being undertaken with the aim of making this a more attractive proposition for logistics operators.

Supply chain operator

The secretary of state for education Gillian Keegan MP has approved an increase in the funding band for the LGV Driver Cat C+E Apprenticeship.

This means that the new upper limit for funding the apprenticeship has increased from £7,000 to £8,000 for new starters, with effect from 26 June 2023.

The LGV Driver Apprenticeship was one of 20 selected by the DfE for an exceptional funding review due to the impact of cost inflation on training delivery.

The criteria for choosing the 20 apprenticeships were their popularity and known skills shortages in priority sectors. In the 2021/2022 academic year, there were 2,827 starters for the Cat C+E apprenticeship, the most popular in the whole of the transport and logistics sector.

The Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education (IFATE) worked with the Transport and Logistics Trailblazer Group to prepare the funding review submission.

There were six elements to the review for consideration:

 The learning module costs (principally the training instructor costs);

 Consumables (including fuel);

 Formative assessment;

 The end-point assessment;

 Mandatory qualifications;

 Administration costs.

The inclusion of mandatory qualifications such as driving test costs was a welcome development as a result of changes to the Education and Skills Funding Agency rules.

The Trailblazer Group submission was made on 24 February

2023, in line with IFATE’s timetable. After providing clarification for certain cost areas, it received notification from IFATE on 31 March that it would recommend an increase to the funding band to the DfE and this was endorsed by the secretary of state last week.

This 14% increase in funding should encourage more employers to adopt the apprenticeship route for the training of new drivers.

Last month, the transport and logistics sector reached the £1bn milestone for contributions in Apprenticeship Levy since its introduction in April 2017. However, it is estimated that the sector will only have recovered around £300m in logistics apprenticeship funding during that period.

Jim French MBE, co-chair, Trailblazer Group, Transport and Logistics

This apprenticeship currently has two options – one for a conventional traffic operator and one for a removals operative. This is a crazy situation as the two roles are obviously distinctly different. This causes confusion for potential apprentices and consequently restricts the number of starters.

The Trailblazer Group, in conjunction with the British Association of Removers, recently presented to the Transport and Logistics Route Panel to seek approval for two separate apprenticeships. A response should be received from IFATE before the end of the month.

To the outsider, these processes sound long-winded and dealing with IFATE can be bureaucratic. However, I do believe these three initiatives illustrate the progress the Trailblazer Group is making in working with IFATE to increase the appeal and take-up of apprenticeships in our sector.