Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment his Department has made of the effect of Carillion entering liquidation on training and apprenticeships in the construction industry.

Following the announcement on the 15 January 2018 regarding the liquidation of Carillion, the Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA) has enacted robust contingency plans and identified the Construction Industry Training Board, (CITB) as the best placed alternative provider.

The ESFA contacted all affected apprentices on 15/01/18 to notify them of the situation and next steps. The Study Programme Learners were notified by letter on the 17/01/2018. Affected learners have been provided with the details of a dedicated mailbox: Carillion.Construction@education.gov.uk - where they can raise any issues or concerns.

The CITB is on the ESFA’s register of approved apprenticeship training providers; it delivers good quality provision, with a proven track record of delivering the specific frameworks and standards that current Carillion Apprentices are studying. CITB centres are geographically situated, within what is anticipated to be a reasonable travel time for the apprentices; and critically they have the capacity and capability to take on displaced apprentices and study programme learners. A dedicated team of 50 advisers and assessors in the CITB has been identified to support apprentices and work with them to identify new employers.

The CITB is utilising its existing employer contacts in the sector and the grant incentives it has available, in order to find and secure alternative employers for the apprentices to complete their frameworks or standards. Additionally, it is making direct contact with Carillion supply chain companies. CITB have reported that numerous employers have responded positively with offers of support.

CITB have contacted all affected learners to begin the transfer process, with a focus on minimising disruption to the learner and their learner journey. It has established a dedicated helpline to support those affected and has scheduled a series of workshops for learners, which will take place in the regions of the 11 Carillion Training Centres. Those workshops will provide advice on next steps and offer one to one support as required. The timings and locations of these events have been communicated to the learners through telephone calls, email and a comprehensive social media campaign.

Carillion has also issued communication to its learners, alerting them to the situation and reassuring them, that support is in place to ensure a swift transition.

The ESFA is meeting with CITB daily to monitor progress and resolve any issues.