24 April 2020

Update from Karly Lattimore, Managing Director – Training

First, a big thank you to you all for continuing to support your apprentices during this difficult time. We recognise this is a difficult period for all, work wise and personally and our priority is to continue to fully support our apprentices and work with our employers to ensure business continuity across all training activities, taking responsible action to help stop the virus spreading further.

Apprentices and employers have adapted extraordinarily well to our new ways of working, almost overnight we have changed our delivery model to being entirely remote, with Training Co-ordinators executing a range of teaching methods to deliver knowledge and develop skills and behaviours across our entire suite of apprenticeships. As a result, over 90% of apprentices remained engaged with their learning despite their individual circumstances.

Our aim is to ensure that the changed delivery model does not impact on the quality of education that our apprentices are receiving. We are pleased to say that feedback from nearly 100 apprentices who have completed a session survey, 100% say the session was at least good, with 52% stating the session as excellent. 98% of apprentices used the software without difficulty and 86% of apprentices saying that they benefited from the session as well as they would have done with usual methods of delivery. We continue to review feedback and assess the quality of the teaching sessions, acting on the feedback we receive to further improve delivery.

The Department for Education continue to update their guidance around any flexibilities offered during this pandemic and whilst we are yet to receive the confirmation on flexibilities relating to functional skills testing and end point assessment, be assured that we will respond swiftly to the guidance to ensure that any disruption to achievement is minimal.

The current guidance issued by the Government allows for staff members to continue apprenticeship training during this period, which extends to members of staff starting on an apprenticeship programme, including in circumstances of furlough. We believe that this opportunity allows you to keep your staff engaged, showing the value you place in continuing to develop your staff. It is also an opportunity to give apprentices a head start on building the off-the-job training hours to develop knowledge and skills allowing staff to hit the ground running when the normality, as far as it will be normal again, resumes. We are extremely well set up to continue to support the learning and development needs in your businesses, all which can be agreed, planned, and executed remotely. For further information on how we might be about to support you please contact Cathy Hughes at [email protected] or any other member of the Training team who will be able to help.

We do not know when we will come out of the other side of this pandemic, but our aim is to come out of this stronger, having used this opportunity to develop innovations in eLearning, enhancing our curriculum offer and our suite of qualifications to continue to support staff development within our industry.

The links below are to articles of some of things we have put together to support not only for apprentices, but all individuals who are having to adapt to new ways of working in these challenging times. If you do feel that there is more that would benefit you, your colleagues or your businesses then please do feedback and we will aim to ensure that you have everything you need.

I hope everyone is staying safe and well.