New LSC guide confirms slash in bureaucracy for training providers
The Association of Learning Providers (ALP) has today welcomed the launch of a new guide from the Learning and Skills Council designed to significantly reduce the amount of paperwork completed by work based learning providers when delivering training for the LSC.
Delegates at the ALP's annual 'Partners in Learning' conference in Stansted heard Jaine Clarke, the LSC's director of skills for employment, outline the reduced requirements which guarantee monthly cashflow to providers that can produce a reconciliation afterwards. Training leaders have described this latest development as the final nail in the coffin of the micro-management of work based learning contracts.
The LSC's new Administration Guide confirms a process that requires a provider to submit only a one-page return each month for employed learners which frees up time available for actual delivery. In contrast, the position five years ago involved a detailed claim being submitted with a considerable amount of accompanying paperwork. As a result, payment could often be withheld if a small error was made.
Welcoming the launch of the new guide, Graham Hoyle, ALP's chief executive, said: "The Administration Guide is a further indication of the growing trust between the LSC and its suppliers which has developed in line with the significant improvements in the quality of service delivered by work based learning providers in recent years. The Guide represents a major step forward in the reduction of bureaucracy which will help to make Train to Gain, apprenticeships and other programmes have a real impact on the skills needs of the economy."