Milton Keynes College have received the honour of being one of the first organisations to be listed on a new government register of top quality training providers for apprenticeships.

Announced by the Department for Education (DfE) and the Skills Funding Agency (SFA), the register has been established to ensure that all training providers listed deliver courses that fulfill the needs of apprentices.

To achieve the honour, the College undertook a rigorous assessment process in order to apply for a place on the register of apprenticeship training providers (RoATP). As a result of their successful application, they will be able to deliver apprenticeship training to levy-paying employers from as early as May.

The register is the first step in delivering the government’s wider reforms to make apprenticeships more rigorous, better structured, independently assessed and more clearly aligned to the needs of employers.

Anna Clarke, Head of Apprenticeships at Milton Keynes College said, “We are thrilled to be listed on the first ever RoATP, which is expected to give employers and apprentices reassurance that providers have the capacity and capability to deliver top quality apprenticeship training.

“Milton Keynes College has over 25 years’ experience of delivering high quality programmes to a variety of businesses across multiple sectors. We have invested in first-class facilities and a dedicated apprenticeship team, all of which contributed to our successful application to the SFA.”

Apprenticeships and Skills Minister Robert Halfon said, “Giving employers control over their apprenticeships needs and funding is an essential feature of our plan to create an apprenticeships and skills nation. Our new register of apprenticeship providers will mean that only organisations that have passed our quality assurance can deliver apprenticeships.

“We are giving employers the confidence to do business with high-quality training providers, and making sure that individuals can benefit from gold-standard routes as they climb the ladder of opportunity.”