Part 4: General Schedule 1: The Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education
This Schedule amends the Apprenticeships, Skills, Children and Learning Act 2009 ("the 2009 Act"). That Act is amended by the Deregulation Act 2015 (in relation to the approved English apprenticeships reforms) and the Enterprise Act 2016 (to, among other things, establish the Institute for Apprenticeships). The Institute was established in April 2017 with apprenticeships functions. This Schedule extends the Institute’s remit to include technical education. This includes approved technical education qualifications (see section A2DA) and the additional components that a person may need to take in order to progress into employment (see section A2DB), together referred to in these explanatory notes as ‘technical education’.
	Sections ZA2 – ZA5 are amended to include technical education. Under section ZA2, the Institute must have regard to certain matters when performing its functions. These include the reasonable requirements of employers and students, and to ensure good value for money and the quality of the education or training provision approved by the Institute. The Institute must also have regard to other matters set out by the Secretary of State in a notice. There will no longer be a requirement that the notice is given annually because more frequent notices may be needed following the expansion of the Institute’s functions. Each notice must be laid before Parliament.
	Sections ZA3, ZA4 and ZA5 are also amended to include technical education. The Secretary of State may require the Institute to provide advice and assistance in relation to apprenticeships or other education or training. The Secretary of State may also require the Institute to take on new functions through conferral or delegation powers.
	New section ZA9 enables the Secretary of State to specify broad groups of occupations, which may also be referred to as ‘routes’. This provides a framework for grouping together occupations where there are shared training requirements. New section ZA10 requires the Institute to map occupations in relation to the routes identified by the Secretary of State under ZA9 and to publish that information. Each occupational map will group together occupations with similar knowledge, skills and behaviours and which the Institute considers may be appropriate for an apprenticeship or technical education.
	New section ZA11 requires the Institute to publish standards for occupations which the Institute considers appropriate, and for each standard to describe the occupation and the outcomes which a person will be expected to attain to successfully achieve the standard. The standards must be drafted by a group of persons who have been approved by the Institute. The Institute may commission a group of persons to draft a standard if it considers that a standard would not otherwise be available. The Institute can provide advice and guidance to the group of persons charged with preparing the standard. The Institute must publish the criteria to be used in deciding whether to approve or reject a group who wish to develop a standard, and the criteria to be used to approve or reject the standard itself. It may also take into account other matters outside the published criteria in individual cases where appropriate. The Institute must also publish information to show how the standard relates to the occupational map.
	The definition of "approved English apprenticeship" in section A1 of the 2009 Act is amended so that it is based on standards approved under section ZA11 for such occupations as the Institute considers appropriate. The effect of this is that previous references to apprenticeships standards are replaced by the new standards.
	Section A2 is amended so as to make explicit that it only applies to apprenticeship assessment plans. It makes equivalent provision in relation to plans as applies in relation to standards under ZA11. Unlike standards, assessment plans only relate to apprenticeships. Paragraph 12 repeals section A2A (preparation of apprenticeship standards and plans) because most of that section is reproduced within new section ZA11 and amended section A2.
	Approved English apprenticeship standards and plans published by the Institute under section A2 of the 2009 Act before this Schedule is in force are to be treated as having been approved and published as standards (under new section ZA11) and plans (under amended section A2(6)) (see paragraphs 33 and 34 of the schedule).
	Section A2B is amended to allow the Secretary of State, by making regulations, to authorise the Institute to charge fees for evaluating apprenticeship assessments. The regulations may prescribe restrictions such as the amount of the fees, or a maximum amount the Institute may charge. The purpose of evaluating apprenticeship assessments is to quality assure the assessment of outcomes (which are set out in the standard to which the assessment plan relates) including to the reliability and consistency of assessments.
	The policy intention is that all apprenticeships under standards are to be assessed by an 'End Point Assessment', which evaluates how well the apprentice has acquired the knowledge, skills and behaviours set out in the relevant apprenticeship standard. The purpose of evaluating apprenticeship assessments is to ensure all organisations which offer them are delivering comparable, consistent and high quality assessments.
	Employers and others who develop apprenticeship standards must set out who will carry out this quality assurance process in relation to each standard, and how they will do it, or the Institute will not approve the arrangements. The Institute may carry out the quality assurance itself or approve plans for others to do it. For example, Ofqual, professional bodies or others.
	New section A2DA allows the Institute to approve technical education qualifications in relation to one or more occupations for which there is a published standard. A qualification may only be approved if a person taking that qualification would demonstrate that they have attained as many of the outcomes in the standard as can reasonably be expected by undertaking a course of education.
	Under section A2DA, the Institute may make any appropriate arrangements for ensuring that the qualifications are available to be approved. This may include entering into contracts with other persons and requiring such conditions as the Institute sees fit. The approval process will include the transfer of copyright for relevant course documents to the Institute (see new section A2IA). The Institute must determine what those documents are (if any). It must also be satisfied that persons who it thinks are entitled to rights or interests in those documents agree to the transfer of copyright. Even if the Institute does not meet that requirement, the failure does not invalidate the approval of the qualification (assuming the Institute did not know that the person did not agree to the transfer). If a person's right or interest is transferred to the Institute without agreement, the Institute must only pay appropriate compensation if needed. It is expected that payment of compensation would be highly unlikely to arise in practice. The Institute may withdraw approval of a qualification. The Institute may also modify an approved qualification without having to withdraw the approval and reapprove it. The Institute must publish details of approved qualifications and withdrawn qualifications, indicating the occupation or occupations to which each qualification relates.
	New section A2DB allows the Institute to set out additional education, types of training or other components to assist a person in progressing into employment. These may include other qualifications or a work placement, for example. The Institute must publish details of these additional requirements. The Institute may make further determinations under this section which could replace earlier determinations. A person who has completed a technical education qualification and the additional steps may be eligible to receive a technical education certificate (see new section A3A).
	New section A2DC allows the Secretary of State to direct the Institute in relation to new sections A2DA and A2DB. The Institute must act in accordance with the directions (see section ZA8). This is to ensure that the Secretary of State has the necessary oversight in relation to technical education as recommended by the independent Sainsbury Panel.
	New section A2HA requires the Institute to maintain a list of approved technical education qualifications. The list must indicate the standard or standards to which each qualification relates as well as the additional education, types of training or other steps that a person may need to undertake in order to progress into employment and to be awarded a technical education certificate (see section A3A). The Institute must ensure that the list is available free of charge.
	New section A2IA gives the Institute ownership of copyright in technical education course documents (determined by the Institute under section A2DA(4)). The rights transfer to the Institute at the point where the Institute approves the qualification. A2IA(3) gives the Institute the power to assign or grant a licence of the copyright to another person. This may include an organisation with whom the Institute has entered into arrangements under section A2DA.
	The amendments to section A2I ensure that transfer of copyright in standards and assessment plans to the Institute applies to the new standards and plans in the same way as it did for the previous standards and plans. New section A3A allows the Secretary of State to issue a certificate to any person who has completed a technical education qualification and any other steps determined under A2DB. The Secretary of State may make regulations: to require an application to be made in a particular way before a certificate is issued; about the supply of copies of certificates; authorising the charging of a fee for issuing a certificate or supplying a copy of it.
	New section 40AA allows for information sharing between the Institute and other quality bodies and vice versa (in particular Ofsted, Ofqual and the future Office for Students). In addition, the Secretary of State may make regulations to allow the Institute to share information for a specified purpose with other persons not stated on the face of the Act and vice versa. The intention is that nothing in the new section authorises the Institute to provide information contrary to a statutory provision (in particular the Data Protection Act 1998) but that the Institute may provide information under the section notwithstanding any other restriction. New section 40AA is complementary and without prejudice to the other powers for the Institute to share information.
	Section 100 of the 2009 Act is amended to apply to technical education by the insertion of new subsection (1B). This allows for technical education courses to be eligible for public funding by the Secretary of State under that section. This is without prejudice to the Secretary of State using any other of the Secretary of State’s funding powers under other enactments.
	Paragraph 35 allows the Secretary of State to make regulations for anything the Secretary of State has done prior to the commencement of the legislation to be treated, on or after commencement, as done by the Institute. For example, any work undertaken by the Secretary of State (or a person acting on behalf of the Secretary of State) in connection with convening employer panels to set standards, the approval of these standards, and any agreements entered into with persons who will develop a technical education qualification to meet these standards, may be treated as being done by the Institute. The regulations may also modify the amendments to the 2009 Act. An example of the modifications is given in the paragraph, that if the regulations provide for a group of persons convened by the Secretary of State to be treated as convened by the Institute under section ZA11(6), the regulations may disapply the conditions in section ZA11(6)(a) and (b) in relation to the convening of that group. Any other modifications may be specified too. This power comes into force on the day on which the Act is passed.