“Offering Apprenticeships has been a great benefit to our business. We’ve seen Apprentices grow through their courses. Our managers are actively involved in setting targets and supporting the direction of staff development.” (T. Ellender, Balfour Beatty).
Taking on an Apprentice within your business has many benefits and rewards. But was does taking on an Apprentice involve, for you as the employer? We’ve broken it down so you can clearly see what the process involves and how it impacts the business.
All Apprentices are assigned a Work Based Tutor (WBT). The WBT is there to support, help and guide the Apprentice throughout the programme. They will meet with them regularly at the work place, or remotely if necessary.
Initially, the WBT will arrange a sign up meeting between the Apprentice, their line manager and themselves. This sign up meeting takes the Apprentice through the outline of the Apprenticeship programme that they are on, and through our e-learning platform. This platform is called BUD.
Once commitment and funding statements have been agreed and signed, the Apprentice is officially enrolled onto the Apprenticeship qualification.
The WBT will then arrange to meet with the Apprentice periodically through regular visits across the length of the programme. They will set work and go through previous work that has been set. During these visits, the Apprentice should have a clear understanding of how they are progressing and what work they need to do for the next visit.
The Apprentice will also have quarterly progress reviews with both their Line Manager and the WBT. These reviews will confirm their progress to date and agree actions and timelines to support a successful completion.
Riverside Training offers an e-learning platform to all our Apprentices. Using BUD has not only meant that we’ve been able to move from a paper-based Apprenticeship, it has allowed Apprentices to have access to a modern and efficient platform to complete their qualification.
The entirety of the Apprenticeship is completed on BUD, meaning that it can be accessed anywhere – work, home or even out and about by using the BUD app. The Apprentice has their work set for them on this platform, and can also contact their WBT through the system.
One of the requirements of an Apprenticeship is completing the 20% off-the-jobhours (OTJ). OTJ is learning that is undertaken outside of the normal working environment, and leads towards the achievement of an Apprenticeship.
OTJ is based on the working hours of the Apprentice. For example, if the Apprentice works 37.5 hours per week then they would complete 7.5 hours off OTJ learning per week. However, the hours can be accumulated over the duration of the qualification. Whilst this can include training that is delivered at the place of work, it cannot be delivered as part of their normal working duties.
For examples of what can and cannot be used for OTJ learning, please click here. These hours need to be logged and evidenced in order for the qualification to be completed.
Approximately 3 months before the due end date of the Apprenticeship, the Apprentice will go through ‘Gateway’. This is the planning and confirmation of their readiness to complete their End Point Assessment (EPA) which results in them completing their Apprenticeship. It can be broken down into the following stages:
Riverside Training has ensured that the process of hiring an Apprentice, or putting an existing member of staff onto an Apprenticeship is a straightforward journey.
With our team of knowledgeable and experienced WBTs and our e-learning platform, having an Apprentice within your workplace can only positively impact the business.
To find out more on hiring an Apprentice, or putting a member of staff onto one of our qualifications, please contact us today for an informal chat.