Apprenticeships Commissioning Programme Wales Framework Agreement

The purpose of the Apprenticeships Programme is to support people in Wales through high quality learning, in order to provide employers with the relevant skilled people to meet the current and future needs of the Welsh economy.

Apprenticeships offer employed learners the opportunity to pursue a Foundation Apprenticeship, Apprenticeship, or Higher Apprenticeship framework. Degree Apprenticeships are excluded from this procurement.

Each framework specifies the learning activities, including, qualifications covering occupational competencies, the relevant technical knowledge, Essential Skills Wales and Employment Rights and Responsibilities (ERR).

The Client is committed to aligning the Apprenticeship Programme to the needs of the Welsh economy as outlined in its policy and action plan published in February 2017 - Aligning the Apprenticeship model to the needs of the Welsh economy 2017. The focus is on aligning and raising the level of the skills market designed to meet employer needs with a system that is responsive to industry changes, particularly in the sectors that drive growth and prosperity. The policy reflects the step change towards higher level technical and professional skills, promoting efficiency and portability within our priority sectors.

The Welsh Government is of the view that the option to extend the framework beyond four years is likely to be desirable. Individual participants may be on a vocational Apprenticeship programme for up to four years. In the event the maximum term of the framework mirrors the maximum duration of a vocational Apprenticeship programme, this is likely to result in many apprentices having their learning disrupted as they may be obliged to transfer from an unsuccessful legacy provider to a successful bidder when a future replacement framework is procured. Adopting a 4 year fixed term framework agreement with the ability to extend up to a maximum of 6 years should provide Welsh Government with the opportunity to limit the number of displaced apprentices that may arise if the procurement process had to be repeated more regularly. Additional information: The value range is anticipated to be Min GBP 400m to Max GBP 1.05 billion over the term of the agreement, further details are included in the tender documents.