Apprenticeship provider rated 'inadequate'

Ofsted said Sheffield-based Learndirect Limited was delivering inadequate apprenticeships and outcomes for learners, while the quality of teaching, assessment, personal development and adult learning programmes all required improvement.

The company, which is owned by private equity firm Lloyds Development Capital (LDC) – an arm of Lloyds Bank – said the report was not an “accurate reflection” of its performance.

The damning report was published yesterday after a failed bid to block it in the High Court and the Government said on Wednesday that Learndirect’s contract with the Education and Skills Funding Agency (Esfa) will be wound up by July next year.

It is understood the company, which employs 1,645 people and was responsible for about 79,500 learners over the last year, has not taken on any new apprentices since May and will no longer deliver apprenticeships.

Ofsted, which said it stands by its methods, said inspectors found the management of nearly 23,000 apprentices on Learndirect’s programmes was “ineffective”, with a third not receiving the off-the-job learning allowing them to progress their careers.

The report said: “The proportion of apprentices who complete their programmes successfully and the proportion who achieve within their planned timescale have declined over the past three years and are very low.”

Six out of 10 apprentices in 2015/16 did not achieve an apprenticeship within their planned timescale and 70 per cent of apprentices in that year fell below minimum standards, inspectors said.

The report acknowledged that the actions of a new management team had begun to have an impact on tackling the weaknesses, while tutors were said to provide good support for adult learners.

Inspectors also highlighted that, while the business was split in two in 2016 and apprenticeship provision carved off into a separate firm called Learndirect Apprenticeships Ltd, the transfer of contracts had not taken place as the time of the inspection in March this year.

A spokesman for Learndirect said the company had been subject to cuts in Government funding but was “financially stable”.

Shadow Education Secretary Angela Rayner said the inspection raised “serous questions” about training provision and was an example of the “damage” caused by privatisation and funding cuts. She said: “This is why Ministers should take direct control now.”