There's a lot of talk across the sector about how the apprenticeship reforms have affected learners and assessors – but what about providers? 

The new Register of Apprenticeship Providers (RoATP) is a new entry route for organisations and employers who want to deliver apprenticeship training. It's designed to moderate the quality of apprenticeships and provide assurance to learners, employers and the Government. But despite this relative increase in regulation, there's still be a lot of confusion across the sector.

Find out how the apprenticeship reforms have affected people across the sector here. 

The first thing to get your head around is the application process.

There are three application routes:

• Main application route
• Employer provider route
• Supporting route

The main application route:

This route is designed for the majority of providers – those who have the capacity and capability to deliver over 50% of the standards and frameworks they offer, up to any value.

Levied employers who want to deliver in-house training to their own staff will also apply through the main application route.

Providers who register through the main route can apply to be selected through the Digital Apprenticeship Service (DAS) or through the ESFA procurement delivery for employers who don’t pay the apprenticeship levy.

The employer-provider route:

This one is a little more self-explanatory. The employer provider route is for levy-paying employers who want to provide training to their own staff – either as a main provider or as a subcontractor to their appointed main provider.

The no, no's:

If you apply to the RoATP using this route you cannot deliver apprenticeship training to other organisations – even in your own supply chain.

But if you plan to deliver less than £100K of training as a subcontractor, you don’t need to apply at all.

Supporting route: 

Any organisations that want to deliver over £100K but less than £500K of training as a subcontractor must apply through the supporting route. This also applies to providers who are new to the market or don’t have the capacity to be a main provider.

This has had a major impact for many training providers.

Before the reforms, there were no rules in place to regulate subcontracting across the sector, meaning huge chunks of apprenticeship training could be shifted from the main provider to a subcontractor without supervision. Now, all subcontractors within these guidelines must meet the government's new compliance measures.

Again – if you deliver less than £100K of training as a subcontractor, you don’t need to apply at all. You're off the hook!

Once you've decided which route to take, its time to apply. Should be straightforward, right?

Well, not quite – the application is pretty complex. You'll be asked to provide information on your organisation, compliance records, capabilities and financial health. You'll also have to register for an account with the ICO (Information Commissioners Office) and the UKRLP to obtain a UKPRN.

Then you must apply to the RoATP through the Government's online Bravo portal – so you'll need to set up and account with them too!

Read a detailed breakdown of the RoATP application process – and find out more about the Bravo e-tendering portal. 

There's no automatic transfer for organisations currently on the Register of Training Organisations (RoTO). So if you're already registered with RoTO, you'll still need to apply to the new RoATP.

To find out how the apprenticeship reforms have impacted people across the sector, download our free guide.