Last week, we hosted a Coffee Break webinar to give providers a chance to hear from JTL Training. Over 60% of JTL’s apprentices are on new apprenticeship standards, so they have lots of insights to share.
Here’s a summary of their journey so far and the lessons they’ve learnt along the way:
JTL are a large national apprenticeship provider, with over 2,300 starts in the building service and engineering industries.
Get involved early – but think carefully when to make the transition
“We got involved with trailblazer employer groups from their inception, which gave us an insight into what to expect in the standard and how it should be delivered. It was important to get senior-management buy-in from the start and to keep track of policy developments. We started to talk to our employers early on too, to get their view and start to take them on the journey with us.”
“Although there were hopes to start delivering in September 2015, we wanted to make sure all our partners were ready and that we had the resources and materials in place before starting, so we deferred for a year. You need to assess the risks, and carefully consider when to start making the transition – don’t just jump in without preparing first. To start, also stick with what you know and concentrate on developing a really high-quality offer, before branching out.”
Make your communications clear and purposeful
“We work with other 3,000 employers and 100 colleges, so it has been critical to get our communications right. Messages to internal staff, partners and employers need to be consistent and clear. Rather than drip feed information and risk confusion, it was important to take measured steps to communicate with certainty.”
“We held lots of training days for staff and partners (nationally and regionally) and webinars, using role-play to make sure they understood the changes, how it would affect their practice, and making sure they were comfortable.”
“It was also important to communicate with our employers in ways they could access easily. We hosted many employer briefings at local level, at a time to suit them – including breakfast meetings, evening meetings, and briefings on wholesaler premises. Be prepared that it will take time for employers to understand the funding changes and their responsibility.”
The transition project – sharing the burden
“Don’t see the reforms as just a delivery or operational issue. It’s important that the whole organisation is involved, including quality assurance teams, finance staff and back-office staff.”
“The preparation and transition needs to be coordinated with a clear action plan in place. We set out clear objectives, milestones and deadlines and then established project teams and groups to work on different elements of the transition, reporting into a main project board that oversaw the whole process.”
Distil your offer down and set negotiation parameters
“It was necessary for us to spend time revising plans and distilling our offer down until it was simple enough for employers to understand and buy into. Employers want certainty that apprenticeships will work for their business and will be value for money (particularly if it’s a 3 or 4 year programme). How does your offer assure them of quality? What can you take on from the employer, such as paperwork and processes, to make their life easier?”
“Senior managers and business development teams need to be confident in what they’re offering. Be clear on what your pricing structures are and how marketing and employer engagement teams are selling the offer. It will be important to set clear parameters.”
Map out clear processes and test them
“We first looked to develop the paperwork, systems, finance, accounting, compliance and control processes, making sure they were all tested and piloted before implementing across the organisation. Understanding how changes to our processes affected our front-line staff was also important.”
“In terms of finance, first understand what is required by the SFA and then design simple systems to collect contributions, such as standing orders and direct debits. This has been one of the most challenging areas for us and takes time, but it’s important to get right if you are to operate well as a business.”
“You are transitioning from a process that was structured around 16-18 and 19+ into a myriad of potential options and pricing points. Providers need to make sure all compliance issues are in order – have a double check system in place. For example, get confirmation from the employer (e.g. in an email) every time documentation is signed by training staff ‘in the field’. This means you know the employer understands what they are agreeing to.”
Use system change to ‘gold-plate’ your quality
“The reforms give you chance to step back and assess where you can improve your offer and how you operate. We took the opportunity to improve and invest in our systems, including MIS, quality improvement and the use of online learning.”
Need help?
Through the Future Apprenticeships programme, led by AELP, SDN has supported thousands of apprenticeship staff from over 600 providers to prepare for the reforms and deliver apprenticeship standards – through workshops, consultancy and the Future Apprenticeships toolkit. We’ve also supported many of the trailblazer employer groups to develop standards and assessment plans.
SDN offer briefings, consultancy support and the development of training materials, to help providers move from apprenticeship frameworks to standards. We specialise in apprenticeship end-point assessment too! Come and have a chat with us