Manufacturing Engineer (degree): duration changed
A change to the shape of the programme, not just its paperwork.
Manufacturing Engineer (degree) has changed specification. Level 6, 42 months, maximum funding £27,000, reference ST0025, currently at version 1.2.
Recorded change: Duration changed from 48 to 42 months. Updated to version 1.2.
Duration and level are not cosmetic. Typical duration drives the published off-the-job training minimum, the drawdown profile against a levy account, and what you can reasonably promise an employer about when someone will be competent. Level affects entry requirements, funding band and progression.
The version in force at each apprentice's start date is the one that binds them, so a change like this will leave you delivering two shapes of the same programme for a while.
What to do about it: re-check the published off-the-job minimum for this standard, re-cost the programme, and confirm your MIS is holding the right duration per cohort rather than the current one for everybody. On Engineering and manufacturing this is worth reading alongside any other specification changes, since they often move together.