Employers at the driving force of the apprenticeships

How should you work with the employer when supporting your apprentice?

I have said many times that at the planning of the apprenticeship should take place at the start of the apprenticeship (before the sign up)

So that everyone knows where, when, and how both on the job and off the job training takes place.

We have previous legislation that this should be so, yet it is documented that ‘there is widespread practice of recruiting apprentices whilst providing little or no training in a context where the 280 Guided Learning Hours required could be spent entirely on assessment of skills in the workplace’.

So, the trainer provides some training, but the employer is lacking in providing a planned programme of on-the-job training that fits seamlessly in the apprenticeship programme.

And yet the funding rule states 20% of an apprentice’s contracted hours must be spent on off-the-job training and seeks to ensure that apprentices have access to substantial training.

The Skills for Jobs white paper has documented that ‘the research showed that awareness and understanding of apprenticeship as a model of learning differed widely between the employers in the study. Whilst on- and off-the-job training in sectors such as construction and engineering was far more comprehensive than what was required by the apprenticeship criteria, in retail and social care it went little beyond training for all staff.

Documenting the off the job training should not be recorded after an ad hoc event in hours only but the training should be planned before the start of the programme.

Working with the employer does not mean a trainer, running through a building, trying to get hold of someone to sign the paperwork. The trainer is worth more than that. If the relationship with the employer is not working out, training is not happening or there is a lack of interest, what are you going to do about it?

The apprenticeship partnership includes the learner, the employer and the training provider, team apprenticeship.

Is this the norm or is it in the minority of apprenticeships?

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