A major financial services apprenticeship provider has been hit with its second consecutive ‘requires improvement’ from Ofsted.
Kaplan Financial Limited, which delivers training to 11,500 apprentices employed by big-name employers such as Microsoft, Cisco and HSBC, was dealt its latest grade three in a report published yesterday.
Inspectors criticised ineffective coordination of on- and off-the-job training for most apprentices, a failure to take into account prior learning, a focus on the achievement of professional qualifications over training, and poor-quality assurance arrangements.
There was also specific criticism for Kaplan’s delivery of the popular and controversial level 7 accountancy and taxation professional apprenticeship, which was in scope for Ofsted scrutiny for the first time in this inspection even though it has been delivered by the financial services provider since 2017.
