Multiverse's latest Ofsted report has been published today, under Ofsted's new, more detailed scorecard system. As with any inspection of a provider operating at our scale, there is plenty to be proud of, and there are areas where we need to pay more attention. This post covers both.
We didn't set out to be a skills provider who always solved the same problems for the same people: we optimise for adoption, adapt to what customers really care about, and ultimately help build the workforce of the future.
It’s approaching ten years that we’ve been delivering apprenticeships and the most important lesson we’ve learned is that you have to solve for customer value if you want to effect long-lasting change in the skills system. You might have killer content and incredible coaching expertise, but if your programme doesn’t solve a problem or address a pressing skills need it won’t deliver enduring impact.
And sometimes that means anticipating what’s next, not just what’s currently working. That’s exactly what we did with AI – developing training programmes to meet emerging customer needs, before the apprenticeship infrastructure was set up for it. This has now changed with the rollout of a new AI apprenticeship standard, but we’re now three and a half years on from the launch of ChatGPT.
At the same time, when you start to innovate at scale, scrutiny from the existing systems isn’t merely inevitable; it’s necessary. Regulation is there for a reason – it’s not a critic to be ignored, it’s a guardrail to keep standards high.
What the Ofsted inspection found
We set out to build a new system for technical training that works for everyone – from an 18-year-old retail worker on the shop floor to a 68-year-old NHS clinician. To date, we’ve supported tens of thousands of learners and more than a thousand employers across all sectors of the economy.
Our report demonstrates that there is plenty to be proud of, and these are all things that our customers will recognise:
The achievements of our learners, who “gain substantial new knowledge and skills in artificial intelligence, use of data and business analysis and management, having in many instances started their apprenticeship with little or no prior experience.”
Our inclusive learner experience, “where apprentices, including those who are disadvantaged, feel welcomed and well supported.”
The quality of our expert coaches and instructors, who are “skilled, effective teachers.”
And the tangible benefits we bring to our apprentices and their employers: learners gain promotions or increased responsibility by the time they complete, improve productivity, and “produce complex, meaningful projects that they successfully apply in the workplace”.
However, the report also flagged areas where we need to pay more attention.
In the tech world, there’s a habit of attacking regulators when their feedback is constructive. We won’t be doing that. We’re using this as an opportunity to sharpen our delivery.
What we're changing following the Ofsted report
We’re taking the feedback on board - here’s a few specific examples of how:
- Hiring more coaches and equipping them better, with workloads already back down: Our coaches and expert instructors are the backbone of what we do. We’ve invested in better internal tools to strip away admin so they can focus on the coaching conversations that matter. And we’ve already hired more than 40 new coaches and instructors in the last quarter alone, so we can continue to grow and support our learner base.
- Career guidance for every learner: We’ve always believed in lifelong learning, but we didn’t prioritise offering specific careers advice for everyone, given some of our learners are twenty or thirty years into their career. We’re now making sure our platform offers career support for every learner, regardless of their seniority.
- Improving our offering for line managers: a crucial predictor of learner success is how much their managers engage with the projects and work they’re doing with us. Going forward we’re improving the manager experience on our platform and redesigning the progress review process.
Looking ahead: skills, AI, and the UK's productivity challenge
Relevant skills are the most important asset we can give workers today – just as they’re the most important lever we have to solve the UK’s productivity challenge. To make that a reality, we have to be willing to hold ourselves to the highest possible standards.
We will invite Ofsted back for a re-inspection before the end of the year, and we already know we have the best people ready to deliver that change.
In the meantime, we remain focused on the goal: ensuring that in the AI era, no one is left behind.
.jpg)