06/10/2017
What makes a high quality apprenticeship? (E)
A draft statement seeking to clarify what makes a high quality apprenticeship by defining what an apprenticeship is and how that quality should be judged has been published for comment by the Institute for Apprenticeships – the organisation established to uphold the quality of apprenticeships in England.
The aim of the Institute in developing the statement is to provide a core reference point for its work and help shape the wider apprenticeship landscape. The statement has been drafted in conjunction with The Quality Alliance, which comprises the various bodies entrusted with ensuring the quality of apprenticeships.
‘Institute for Apprenticeships sets out vision on quality’ links both to an online survey seeking views and the draft statement, which defines an apprenticeship as “…a job with training to industry standards. It should be in a recognised occupation, involve a substantial programme of on and off-the-job training and the apprentice’s occupational competence should be tested by an independent, end-point assessment.”
The key indicators of high quality that will enable the Institute to measure the extent to which an apprenticeship meets the skill needs of employers and apprentices are
- cumulative entry to and achievement of apprenticeships by occupation, level and age group
- the number of employers recruiting and training apprentices by size and sector
Proposed measurement of the training and outcomes for apprentices in terms of quality, achievement and wage gain will be by
- Ofsted overall and apprenticeship grades/HEFCE (OfS) judgments
- days of off-the-job training delivered to apprentices
- ratio of apprentice completion to starts and success in end-point assessment
- wage gain after apprenticeships