Apprenticeship Redeployment with Aspire Learning

Prior to work placement starting:

Activity

Action / evidence / form

Notes

1) Provider identifies apprentices who have been made redundant or who are in danger of being made redundant.

Each month Aspire will send to all providers an email project update which will include a request to provide details of redundant apprentices’ name, age, Sector / framework and whether they are already redundant or if under threat, when they will be made redundant.

2) Providers will use their existing ‘bank’ of employers to try to identify an employer who would offer a short term (up to 26 weeks) ‘work placement’ to support an apprentice to complete their Apprenticeship framework.

Provider to match work placement opportunities to redundant apprentices.
Aspire have produced a standard email text for providers to send to their employer database to introduce this programme and the benefits.

Once the ‘work placement’ has been identified the provider will need to:

Activity	Action / evidence / form	Notes
1) Confirm with Aspire full details of the apprentice/s by first completing the Provider Apprentice Redeployment Record Spreadsheet and then the RSP application form ( both provided by Aspire)	RSP Spreadsheet should be emailed to info@aspirelearning.co.uk in the first instance to register apprentices on to the programme followed by the RSP application form which should be e-mailed to info@aspirelearning.co.uk as soon as possible after that. The original should be forwarded by registered post as soon as all details and signatures are in place.	The spreadsheet is designed to capture all information required for the audit trail related to bringing an Apprentice onto this programme.
2) Provider to complete sections 1 and 2 of an ESF Short Record ILR Form 2009/10 (see attached guidance) including the learner signature.	ESF Short Record ILR 2010 with preset codes ESF Short Record ILR quick guide ESF SR code table ESF SR provider support manual	Provider to send completed short record to Aspire by recorded delivery.
3) Provider to get from work placement employer completed and signed ‘ Employer confirmation of work placement’ form and forward to Aspire.	Employer confirmation of work placement form The original should be forwarded by registered post as soon as all details and signatures are in place.
4) Provider to request that the employer completes a ‘ State Aid Form’ which is a European Social Fund (ESF) requirement and is evidence of the amount of support from the European Social Fund the employer has received in the previous year.	State Aid Form	This form must be forwarded to Aspire as part of the audit trail.

Weekly activities

Activity	Action / evidence / form	Notes
1) As outlined in the apprentices’ learning plan the provider will monitor and review the progress of each apprentice with the support of the work placement employer. Additional information, advice and guidance will also be offered as required.	Apprentice RSP Toolkit (containing additional IAG)
2) For apprentices over 25 years, the provider will pay the training allowance of £95 per week directly to the apprentice. The provider will then invoice Aspire Learning and Development for reimbursement of these allowances. Funding for this age group will be supported directly through this ESF project.	In order to pay the allowance the provider must receive a signed copy of the ‘Employer confirmation of attendance’ form and where possible a copy of the employer’s attendance records showing that the apprentice has attended. The ‘Employer confirmation of attendance ‘form is an audit requirement and will be the evidence that the apprentice has attended the ‘work placement’ that the employer has offered. This will provide the evidence to support the provider paying the hardship allowance and, together with the attendance record and employer invoice, will generate the ‘incentive payments’ which Aspire will pay directly to the employer at 4 and 13 weeks.	Confirmation of Attendance should be collected on a weekly basis and forwarded to Aspire as evidence for the allowance on a monthly basis.
3) For apprentices under 25 years, the provider will pay the apprentice the training allowance of £95 per week directly to the apprentice. The Provider will then reclaim these allowances from the LSC Hardship fund using the TPS.	The Hardship Application Procedure and Guidance is included to support this process.

Monthly

Activity		Action / evidence / form	Notes
1) At the end of each month provider to submit to Aspire the ‘ Employer confirmation of attendance’ for each apprentice to evidence that the apprentice is still in a work placement. If the Apprentice is over 25 years of age this evidence will also include an invoice for the allowances paid to apprentices in that month.	Employer confirmation of attendance
2) The first provider invoice for training allowances must be supported by a full payment audit trail, (see below*).	Provider invoice Provider payment audit trail to be sent to Aspire. Once the audit trail has been approved by Aspire the first payment will be made and Aspire will carry out periodic checks against this audit trail for future claims.
3) Once the Apprentice has been in their employer placement for 4 weeks that employer is entitled to their £200 incentive.	Aspire will contact the employer directly to ask them to send a letter and invoice for £200 to Aspire, who will make this payment. This will be repeated at 13 weeks if the apprentice remains in the work placement.
4) For those apprentices 16-24 years of age, the provider will reclaim training allowances via the TPS.	Use LSC normal procedures for reclaiming allowances against Hardship fund for apprentices aged 16-24
5) Each month providers will receive an email Project Update from Aspire. This update will also include the request for providers to identify numbers of apprentices becoming eligible for the project in the following month.

*Payment Audit Trail – As part of the project audit procedures Aspire is required to ensure that training allowance payments are bona fide and made to eligible apprentices. In order to do this Aspire will need to see copies of the paperwork that makes up the full audit trail for payments of training allowances. Each document should be clearly identified showing what it is, and how it fits into the audit trail. The minimum requirement would be a document for each stage of the payment process, from employer confirmation of attendance through to the payment appearing on the provider’s bank statement. As a minimum it would be expected to see:

The RSP apprentice application form;
The provider’s own application form, signed by the apprentice, or the document that they used to gather the apprentice’s bank details;
The employer confirmation of attendance for the week in question;
The provider payment processing documentation (such as a payment listing or payment day book);
The BACS listing or equivalent, showing details of apprentices being paid and their bank accounts;
The BACS batch total or similar evidence of payment on the provider’s bank statement.

Due to the sensitive nature of the data included in these requirements, the information should be sent by special delivery to Aspire Learning & Development Limited, PO Box 561, Portsmouth PO5 1ZJ.

On Completion of the Apprenticeship / Programme

Activity	Action / evidence / form	Notes
1) The provider to submit to Aspire a ‘ Completion Form’ which mirrors section 3 of the ESF short record (already sent to Aspire).	Completion Form
2) Providers also to provide progression evidence which will either be a completed ‘ Confirmation of progression into employment’ form or a completed ‘Confirmation of progression into learning’ form.	Confirmation of progression into employment Confirmation of progression into learning