The main building blocks for the Institute for Apprenticeships
have been put in place today (27 February 2017) with the
announcement of Antony Jenkins as the Chair.
Appointed as Shadow Chair in June 2016, Antony Jenkins has been
an ambassador for the institute and has played a key role in
designing its structure and providing strategic leadership and
direction to the organisation during the critical phase of its
development.
Antony Jenkins will operate alongside the 8 members of the board
primarily made up of employers appointed to run the institute in
January.
Apprenticeships and Skills Minister said:
Our reforms to apprenticeships are all about quality, quality,
quality. We do not just want 3 million apprenticeships by 2020,
we want 3 million quality apprenticeships.
The Institute for Apprenticeships is a key part of this - we
have put employers at the heart of apprenticeships because it
is employers who know the skills, training and experience their
future workforce needs to succeed. This is essential to
ensuring social mobility and that people can get their foot on
the ladder of opportunity.
Antony has done a brilliant job as Shadow Chair of the
institute and will continue bringing his expertise and
knowledge to the role of Chair.
Launching in April this year, the Institute for Apprenticeships
will support the government’s agenda on social mobility by
helping to create a ladder of opportunity based on quality
apprenticeships for people across the country.
The primary responsibility of the new organisation will be to act
as decision maker on approving apprenticeship standards and
assessment plans to ensure they are of high quality. Its ultimate
goal being to ensure employees get the skills they need to
succeed from the apprenticeship system.
Chair of the Institute for Apprenticeships Antony Jenkins said:
I am delighted to be appointed on a permanent basis to this
important role. I have enjoyed working with ministers and the
shadow institute to get ready for our launch in April and am
pleased with the progress we have made. The institute,
supported by an able board, has a crucial role to play in
helping develop the skills that employers need and supporting
social mobility by ensuring people have the right skills to
succeed.
It’s vital that we prepare people for the changes technology is
having on the way we live and work. I believe businesses have
an interest in and an obligation to create opportunities for
people to acquire the skills needed to cope in a fast-changing
working environment.
Full details of how the
Institute for Apprenticeships will operate have also been set out
in an operational plan which is currently out for
consultation.
Following consultation, the plan will set out how the Institute
for Apprenticeships will deliver its functions to:
- improve the quality of apprenticeships
- regulate the quality of apprenticeship standards and
assessment plans
- provide advice to government on the pricing of apprenticeship
standards
- establish how the Institute will collaborate with partners to
drive quality across the apprenticeships system
- gain more information and insight on how we will lead the
reforms to technical education
The government is committed to creating 3 million high-quality
apprenticeships by 2020 as part of its drive to help people
fulfil their potential and boost business productivity.
Notes to editors
Antony Jenkins is Founder and Executive Chair of 10x Future
Technologies Ltd. He is Group Chairman of Currencies Direct and a
board member of Blockchain.
In addition to his role at the institute, he is also Chairman of
Business in the Community. He was previously the
Group CEO of Barclays PLC for 3
years until July 2015.
Appointed to the role of Shadow Chair of the institute in June,
he is playing a key role in designing its structure and providing
strategic leadership and direction during its development. He has
regular meetings with the institute set-up team and has already
met several key stakeholders. Antony is not drawing a salary for
the time he spends performing this role.
