The ‘pause’ is to allow time for the Government to review its approach following the process being ‘markedly oversubscribed’.
In a statement on gov.uk, the government says it wants to get the ‘right balance between stability of supply and promoting competition and choice for employers.’
The Association of Employment and Learning Providers (AELP) has welcomed the move, saying it shows that the Government is ‘serious about the quality of the programme and the social mobility benefits of apprenticeships’.
The procurement process for SMEs was begun last October. Now, the contracts of existing training providers will be extended until the end of the year. Current training providers can only sign up new starts however if they are on the Register of Apprenticeship Training Providers.
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