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We’re delighted to welcome Whitehead-Ross as members of ALPS & Alphi. Here’s some information on their activities in Hampshire…

Whitehead-Ross Education: Delivering Skills Bootcamps Across Hampshire

Whitehead-Ross Education, a trusted provider of adult education and social welfare programmes since 2012, is actively delivering Skills Bootcamps across Hampshire, including areas like Fareham, Gosport, and surrounding regions.

These fully funded programmes support local adults in gaining sector-specific qualifications in areas such as Leadership & Management and Teaching Support and have a strong focus on employment outcomes and community impact.

Learn more: Skills Bootcamps – Hampshire, https://www.whiteheadrosseducation.com/

We welcome the newly merged SDN Mesma Group as a member of ALPS & Alphi. Read more about the merger here…

We recently announced that Mesma and SDN were officially joining forces as one merged organisation.

We wanted to officially share this information with you as a trusted partner and because it may be of interest to your members who are SDN and Mesma’s customers and partners. 

The merger combines the expertise of two of the most respected names in the sector, growing their portfolio of work with central government, regional authorities, sector partners, employers, and post-16 providers to design and deliver high-quality technical education, support services, and employability provision.

The newly formed group is positioned as a leading force to drive greater impact and innovation during a time of significant policy change. This merger marks a major milestone, coinciding with the launch of powerful new features on the Mesma software platform. These enhancements harness the latest advances in artificial intelligence to streamline internal performance diagnostics and quality improvement processes, delivering even greater value to customers.

The group will continue to operate under our existing trading names, Strategic Development Network (SDN) and Mesma, providing continuity for our longstanding respective clients while enabling deeper collaboration and innovation. The group will maintain bases in both the North and South of England, working across all regions of the four UK nations, alongside a growing international client base.

Existing leaders from both businesses will oversee five-year growth plans, with a 12-month integration period already underway. In addition to safeguarding existing permanent roles, the merger allows further capacity to create apprenticeships and T Level industry placements.  

For existing clients and partners, there are no changes to existing relationships and contracts. If you have any queries, please contact the team at hello@mesma.co.uk or hello@strategicdevelopmentnetwork.co.uk. 

We’re looking forward to exploring what this next chapter means for you and our continued work together as the SDN Mesma Group.  

You can find out more details about the merger here.

We are pleased to share below the latest information on Skills Bootcamps from Surrey County Council

Dear all,

I’m delighted to say we’re going live with applications to Wave 6 of the Skills Bootcamp and I wanted to share accompanying comms with you directly as key local partners. Please do contact the team if you have any questions on this fantastic opportunity.

Skills Bootcamps are returning to Surrey for 2025/26, and we are looking for innovative organisations to design and deliver courses to equip our residents with the skills to grow our future economy. 

As local providers who have an interest in skills development in Surrey, this could be a great opportunity for your organisations whilst also helping support residents on their employment pathway and filling much needed skills gaps in the local economy. 

Skills Bootcamps are free, flexible courses of up to 16 weeks for anyone aged 19+ to enter employment, upskill or change career. The Department for Education has awarded Surrey County Council £3.1 million of funding to deliver the programme in 2025/26, in collaboration with providers and employers. 

Who can apply 

We are looking for organisations with proven experience of skills training and strong local networks to design and deliver innovative courses shaped around the needs of jobseekers and employers. 

This can include: 

• independent training providers 
• further education (FE) colleges 
• employers 

Previous experience of delivering Skills Bootcamp provision is not a requirement. The main thing is that you are committed to training Surrey residents in skills that local employers are actively looking for and that you have relevant intelligence to support a robust proposal that demonstrates creative design and an understanding of local employers’ needs. 

How to apply 

We are now accepting applications under a competitive grant award process for delivery in 2025/2026 (Wave 6) from interested organisations that can deliver Skills Bootcamps courses by the end of March 2026. 

You will need to evidence demand, strategic fit and innovation, setting out: 

• access to employment post training (preference will be given to bids written in partnership with employers that show clear progression into job roles) 
• how you will meet demand in the local economy, using evidence such as Surrey Economic Growth Strategy and Labour Market Information 
• who your target learners are 
• your previous experience delivering employer-led training 
• previous collaboration with local employers 
• how you will deliver the programme 

Joint applications from training providers and employers are actively encouraged and will need to clearly evidence how the course will be used to fill open vacancies. 

To make your application, please complete the application form that can be found on the Business Surrey website: 

Skills Bootcamps Application – Business Surrey  

If you have any queries about your application, please contact skillsbootcamps@surreycc.gov.uk 

Best wishes

Dawn

www.surreycc.gov.uk

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Congratulations to East Surrrey College on the recent Ofsted Inspection rating of ‘Good’ in all areas, with a ‘Strong’ for contribution to skills

This marks a significant achievement, as the College had been categorised as ‘Requires Improvement’ since 2022, so is testament to the dedication of the leadership, staff and students who have worked tirelessly to drive improvement and progress in further education in Redhill.

Notably, the Ofsted report enthused over our strong contribution to meeting skills needs, stating that, “Leaders work highly effectively with employers and key stakeholders across Surrey and its surrounding areas to identify their needs. They use this information to design curriculums that fill skills gaps, meet employers’ needs, and reduce barriers to education and employment”.

Lindsay Pamphilon, CEO and Principal, has expressed her pride in this achievement, saying “It has been a huge collective effort from the brilliant and dedicated staff we have at Orbital South Colleges, to showcase what we know we do well every day in supporting and inspiring our students to prepare them for employment. The icing on the cake was achieving a ‘Strong judgement’ for the area of skills, which acknowledges the breadth and depth of our links and partnerships with employers and stakeholders, ensuring that the skills needs of today are reflected in the curriculum and enrichment activities of the learners across all curriculum areas from construction and engineering to digital skills and creative industries.”

Save the date! National Apprenticeship Week will be 9th-15th February 2026

From ‘Amazing Apprenticeships’…

“National Apprenticeship Week brings together the entire apprenticeship community to celebrate everything that is amazing about apprenticeships. We will be working with schools, colleges, teachers, students, employers, parents and apprentices to ensure that you have everything you need to make the week a huge success.

Get prepared by joining our early planning webinars for schools/colleges and employers:

Schools/colleges on Monday 23rd June from 3:30pm – 4:30pm

Employers on Monday 30th June from 1pm – 2pm

We’ll be sharing ideas and exploring ways you can get organised ahead of the most exciting week in the apprenticeships calendar!”

Click Here for more info’ on upcoming events

Kiwi & Yuzu Training have been announced as finalists in the NCFE Aspiration Awards in the Centre of the Year category.

Launched by the education charity NCFE in 2018, the Aspiration Awards honour the success of learners, apprentices, educators, support staff and educational organisations from across Britain. Winners are due to be announced in late June 2025. Good luck to Kiwi & Yuzu!

We are pleased to welcome NOCN as a member of ALPS Alphi

NOCN Group is an international charity which delivers future-fit skills solutions with social impact for Colleges, training providers, employers and individuals. We offer Qualifications, Apprenticeship End Point Assessment, Assured Courses, Competence Cards & Tests, and Short Online Courses that are designed to advance skills in the areas where they are most needed.

Click Here for more information on NOCN

We are delighted to be sponsoring the Apprentice of The Year Award at the SME Business Awards 2025.

The prestigious awards for small and medium businesses across Surrey is scheduled to take place in June, although full details are still to be confirmed.

Click Here For more details about the awards.

We are pleased to welcome HIT Training Ltd as a member of ALPS & Alphi

HIT Training Ltd is a national provider of apprenticeships and skills-based training, committed to breaking down social barriers and empowering individuals to reach their full potential, regardless of their starting point in life

Click here for more information about HIT Training and for contact details

Friday 13th September certainly didn’t bring bad luck as we were back at Guildford Cathedral in the beautiful sunshine for the Apprentices Graduation Ceremony – and again, we partnered with GLF Schools to recognise the achievements of their newly qualified teachers alongside those of Surrey and Hampshire apprentices.

Graduates celebrated their awards in front of proud families, friends, employers and training providers, and a number of guest speakers including employers and apprentices themselves shared their experiences and journeys with the packed ‘congregation’. Our keynote speaker was Rt Hon Damian Hinds, Member of Parliament for East Hampshire and Shadow Secretary of State for Education.

Thank you to everyone who helped to make it a huge success – and congratulations again to all the graduates!

Click Here to view and download more photos

Photography by Paul Wilson

PETA Ltd is a training and apprenticeship provider based in Portsmouth. We offer corporate training courses and apprenticeship programmes in Engineering, IT, Health & Safety, Business, Management and Finance. We are a registered charity, directed by an executive council of leaders elected from our member base. We operate on a self-financing basis and are non-profit making, which means all our funds are reinvested into the services and training we deliver.

As the CEO I see my role as supporting, developing, coaching and challenging the team to be the best they can be to support our employers and apprentices.

I started my career in the hospitality sector and was leading a team at 18, I truly believe this has helped me in my current role as I have been able to succeed and fail over many years to help develop my leadership capability.

Being offered my current role as CEO of PETA, I feel it is a perfect blend of using my skills from a corporate role and public sector to lead a purposeful organisation.

If you believe something will happen it will – both positive and negative.

I am fascinated by business so anything business-related which has an ethical purpose I would enjoy.

We are really focused on modernising the delivery and looking forward to continue working closely with our employers to develop new programmes to meet their future needs.

We are owned and governed by local employers who are members of PETA Ltd, this ensures our delivery meets employers future needs.

We have benefitted from participating in the local skills improvement plan work which ALPS/ALPHI have ensured that member organisations have been consulted with.

Continuing funding rule changes and a lack of increase to funding to apprenticeship standards.

Ascentis is a national, charitable Awarding Organisation and Access Validating Agency. We’re market leaders in ESOL, and as an AVA we offer over 25 Access to HE qualifications. Our mission is to enable learning through innovative education and exceptional customer service.

We also offer qualifications in employability, construction, digital and a range of short online qualifications for enrichment.

We’re looking forward to bringing valuable insight to the network from our specialist areas, and most of all, to listening to what you have to say. We want to ensure the products we release are fit for purpose, and you’re the best people to advise us on this.

If you’d like to learn more, our website is www.ascentis.co.uk or you can contact Clarissa Wheeler, Strategic Partnership Manager, on clarissa.wheeler@ascentis.co.uk or  www.linkedin.com/in/clarissaascentis .

We thrilled to say, that before Christmas we secured the funding to hold another Graduation Ceremony at the Cathedral in Guildford on the 13^th September 2024, we hope you will all be able to get involved with this, it is a special event for students, families, and employers.

Here is our Network Meeting schedule for 2024:

February 20th, 10am – 1am

June 11th, 10am – 1am

October 8th, 10am – 1am

This meeting was our Safeguarding Group, Mike Driscoll shares it and you could put something like “providers sharing good practice during an ALPS/ALPHI Safeguarding sub-group for members only.” 

Please contact sue@alpsurrey if you would like to participate in future meetings.

During my time at George Abbot sixth form I took 4 A-Levels: Mathematics, Engineering, IT and Geography, whilst also doing lots of extra curricular activities. Throughout that time I had always thought University wasn’t for me and had started looking into apprenticeships, however didn’t fully understand how the process to get an apprenticeship worked or what the different levels were like. This was the case until I went to a session with Sue Taylor that George Abbot had set up for sixth form students, where I then understood all the different levels of apprenticeships and how and where to apply to them via the gov.uk website for apprenticeships. I have now since applied to 25+ higher and degree apprenticeships and got three offers to which I have accepted a degree apprenticeship in Digital and Technology solutions with Accenture. The main take away from applying to all these apprenticeships is that the whole application process takes longer than you think, which is why having a cover and CV that can be changed easily for each role can really help, and yes I intend to come back next year.

Apprentices and Teachers to have completed from September 2022 to August 2023. Spaces will be limited, with one guest per person. Bookings will open in May 2023.

‘Barriers to young people accessing intermediate and advanced apprenticeships: perspectives from apprenticeship providers’

We are delighted to share NFER’s new research report ‘Barriers to young people accessing intermediate and advanced apprenticeships: perspectives from apprenticeship providers’

This report is based on insights gained from a roundtable NFER hosted with groups who offer apprenticeship opportunities.

It highlights that increasing the affordability of apprenticeships could be a ‘game changer’ in increasing young people’s interest in apprenticeships.

Key findings:

• The ongoing decline in apprenticeship starts at intermediate and advanced levels for 16-19-year-olds since 2015/16 remains a significant concern.
• Providers reported that the most common barrier remains a lack of detailed awareness and in-depth understanding amongst young people, their parents/carers and teachers of apprenticeships and the long-term gains. This is preventing young people from even getting to the point of application. 
• At the point of application, providers perceived the most common barriers for young people to include: not being ’work ready’; not having GCSE English and maths at Grade 4+ (or the equivalent); low levels of psychological wellbeing, low confidence, lack of resilience, and anxiety; apprenticeships not being affordable; and some apprenticeships not being widely available. 

NFER recommends:

• To ensure that opportunities for increasing young people’s awareness and understanding of apprenticeships are capitalised upon, the Government should carefully monitor the implementation of the Skills and Post-16 Education Act 2022 to ensure that the enhanced Baker Clause is being actioned.
• There is a need for employers to be proactively promoting the progression opportunities that apprenticeships bring, through the inclusion of the apprenticeship standards and levels that are desirable/meet entry requirements for all job roles, not just apprenticeships.
• Increasing the affordability of apprenticeships for young people is also essential. This includes addressing the level of the minimum apprenticeship wage, the more widespread introduction of discounted or free travel passes, incremental annual pay increases as an apprentice progresses, to a thorough evaluation of the potentially detrimental consequences of apprenticeships on Child Benefit.
• Consideration should be given to encouraging more employers, particularly SMEs, to take on young people who seem to be increasingly losing out to older, more mature applicants. This requires a review of existing incentives, with increased financial aid for employers supporting young people to achieve level 2 in English and maths, and who have other support needs.

Surrey Chambers, along with FSB and ALPS Alphi are holding an Employer Breakfast in Guildford on 10th February 2023 specifically focused on Apprenticeships

Email LSIP@surrey-chambers.co.uk to register

Network Manager, Sue Taylor along with Gary Hudson from I Choose Local met last week with Chancellor Of The Exchequer and Member of Parliament for Waverley, Rt Hon Jeremy Hunt MP. Discussions included the potential for a Trainee’s bursary as a pre-apprenticeship programme and the value of Apprenticeships for school leavers at 16 as an alternative to full-time Further Education.

Click the link below to view/download the Slidedeck summarising Enterprise M3’s Local Skills Report and Action Plan

Click Here

Follow the link below to view/download the latest Higher & Degree Level Apprenticeship Vacancy Listings for 2022-23

Click Here

Following ALPS and Alphi joining forces, we are delighted to launch our new logo. This replaces the temporary ‘composite’ logo used over the past few weeks.

Please note that until online content has been fully updated and migrated across all platforms, the new artwork may not appear on some content for a few days.