A training college, which was put into compulsory liquidation after its government funding was withdrawn, has left around 150 Bristol apprentices uncertain about their future and businesses across the city in the lurch.
Aspire Achieve Advance (3aaa), which had 38 colleges in the UK including one on Pritchard Street in the city, was wound up after the Department for Education (DfE) ended its contract following an investigation.
The DfE says it had uncovered “serious wrongdoing” within 3aaa, which has since been referred to the police over allegations of fraud. But the DfE says it is making “good progress” identifying new employers for 3aaa apprentices.
The 3aaa website currently reads: "We apologise for any inconvenience, the company have ceased trading and will no longer be accepting any further business. All the best for all employers, 3aaa apprentices and staff in the future.”
But a number of Bristol business owners are concerned about what will happen now their apprentices have no college to oversee their qualifications - and the time it is taking to reallocate the apprentices to new training providers.
Samantha Nelmes, who runs LilyIris Accounting in Yate, spent all her government funding with 3aaa to take on an apprentice who is only weeks away from completing his training.
However, he now has no training provider to examine his final project - and if he isn’t taken on by another college soon, Samantha may be forced to let him go as she can’t afford to pay the full cost of him completing his apprenticeship directly.
She has been trying to contact the government’s Education Skills and Funding Agency (ESFA), which employers have been told will help them, but says she has heard nothing.
She said: “It’s a huge worry for my apprentice. And as a small business it’s been a complete nightmare.
“I know the ESFA will have a huge backlog of cases to deal with but I’m very concerned about what’s going to happen now.”
Bristol apprentice Takudzwa Ngundu said: “I couldn’t have imagined something like this happening so close to finishing my course and it’s been added stress seeing as a month down the line I’m still not exactly sure what’s going to happen.”
There are now reports a number of other training providers have taken steps to take on tutors and students.
But there are concerns some colleges are contacting staff, students and employers directly, leading to questions about how these training providers got hold of personal contact details and whether general data protection laws are being breached.
It is now a criminal offence under Section 170 of the Data Protection Act 2018 to share or obtain personal information without the consent of the individual concerned.
The ESFA says it is now warning of “severe ramifications” for colleges which have been taking advantage of the situation to take on apprentices by allegedly claiming the ESFA has told them to get in touch - as this is false, as reported in FE week.
A Department for Education spokesperson said: “We have terminated our contracts with 3aaa. Our priority now is to find new training providers as quickly as possible for the affected learners.
“We have put a specialist team in place to identify new providers and help learners with as little disruption as possible.”
Mark Dawe, chief executive of the association of employment and learning providers, added: “The most important action to take when any provider fails is to ensure that alternative high quality providers are immediately put in place to support employers and ensure that no apprentice loses their job as a result.
“We have been working closely with the ESFA on this and we understand that arrangements are being made to properly fund affected Bristol apprentices under the supervision of new providers so that their progression on the programme is not in any danger.”
If you have been affected by the closure of 3aaa or any of the events reported in this story, please email hannah.baker@reachplc.com
