Crafting Futures: Navigating the World of Apprenticeship Training
Taking an apprenticeship is an exciting opportunity for individuals to gain industry work experience, receive high-quality training and progress their careers.
The cherry on top? Apprentices also earn a salary at the same time!
As one of the various post-16 pathways available to learners, it’s no surprise that apprenticeships are seen as a dynamic route to success that can help foster talent whilst also upskilling the workforce.
But how does an apprentice embark on this exciting journey and gain all the ingredients they need to flourish?
It all comes down to on-the-job training and off-the-job training, two significant aspects of an apprentice's learning programme that helps boost their skills, knowledge and behaviours.
What's on-the-job training?
On-the-job training is any training that takes place whilst the apprentice is at work.
For example, an apprentice can look forward to diving straight into their job by gaining hands-on experience or shadowing fellow colleagues at work.
The great thing about on-the-job training is that it helps apprentices get into the groove of their role and gain a firmer understanding of the daily responsibilities that come with it.
What's off-the-job training?
On the other hand, off-the-job training refers to any activity that takes place outside of an apprentice’s usual job responsibilities. For example, depending on the apprentice’s role, they may find themselves attending or taking part in:
lectures
role playing
simulation exercises
industry visits and attending conferences
conducting projects
completing assignments.
You may look at the activities above and wonder: how does an apprentice have the time to do any of that and work at the same time?
You’ll be relieved to hear that apprentices don’t have to be in two places at once because six hours of their working week are taken out and dedicated to off-the-job training.
The magic about off-the-job training is that it’s super flexible and can fit around any apprentice’s schedule. This means that the six hours don’t have to be taken all in one block and can instead be spread out across the week.
How to plan off-the-job training
Whilst it may be tempting for an apprentice to jump straight into off-the-job training (we wouldn't blame them!), the employer and training provider need to work together to build a planned programme of learning that correctly reflects their role before anything is set into motion.
To dot all the i's and cross all the t’s, the learning programme is documented in an apprenticeship agreement, ensuring that all guidelines are met and that the apprentice is taking part in activities aimed at boosting their potential.
The agreement also contains all the nitty-gritty details, such as the criteria the training programme needs to adhere to help the apprentice embark on their journey with a ticket to success.
For example, off-the-job training needs to be conducted during working hours (don’t worry, no extra overtime) and it must be relevant to the role and the industry that it’s in.
It’s always good to mix things up and sprinkle a bit of variety into an apprentice’s learning programme, which is why off-the-job training also needs to be different from their usual day-to-day role and working environment.
The benefits of off-the-job training
When it comes to the advantages of off-the-job training, it may seem like it swings more in the apprentice’s direction especially since the employer is left with one employee short six hours a week but actually...off-the-job training is mutually beneficial for both parties. Let us tell you why!
To start with, it’s a bit of a push and pull process. As the apprentice grows their skill sets and learns the tricks of the trade, the employer gains a motivated and talented individual who can boost their workforce.
What’s more is that the apprentice can bring new, innovative ideas back into their employer’s company after soaking up all the knowledge from other industry experts.
Lastly, the flexibility of off-the-job training is super handy because it means that it doesn’t have to get in the way of an apprentice’s role and can instead fit around the responsibilities that the employer requires of them.
What's not included in off-the-job training?
Whilst off-the-job training offers up a variety of different activities that apprentices can take part in, there are some areas that can’t count towards the allocated hours, such as:
time spent onboarding the apprentice
training that takes place outside of the apprentice’s paid working hours
any statutory leave that is taken by the apprentice
Functional Skills qualifications. (Did we mention our new, blow your socks off Functional Skills?)
How to record off-the-job training
Lastly, off-the-job training needs to be recorded so that End-Point Assessment Organisations (that’s us!) can seamlessly transition apprentices into the gateway and towards their dream careers.
In most cases, training providers will have their own methods or systems when it comes to keeping track of an apprentice’s off-the-job activity, such as:
registers
training logs
timesheets
online learning systems that the employers can access to monitor the apprentice’s activity.
Once all the activity has been logged and the apprentice is ready to begin their end-point assessment, this is where we step in and work our magic.
Interested in seeing what we can do? Find out more about our apprentice-centric EPA services.