A Guide FOR. Employers. with your. provider

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1 A Guide FOR Employers Working with your local learning provider

2 ABOUT PEARSON At Pearson, we take learning personally. We are the world s leading learning company, providing education and assessment services in over 60 countries. In the UK, names like Edexcel, Longman, Heinemann, and BTEC combine 150 years of experience with resources, technology and expertise that support every learner. We offer the largest selection of work-based learning related qualifications to employers in the UK. These include BTEC Apprenticeships, NVQs and other competence-based qualifications, Foundation Learning, Functional Skills, Work Skills and BTECs, as well as our customised framework and Accredited by Edexcel services.

3 Good for our Business For employers across hundreds of different business sectors, BTEC Apprenticeships provide a flexible resource to foster growth and harness fresh talent. Well-trained staff can generally perform a wide range of tasks and take on new responsibilities, which from an employer s perspective, leads to a broader skills set to drive the business forward, minimal staff turnover and workplace accidents, and increased productivity. When talking to employers, I regularly challenge their perceptions of what Apprenticeships can bring to them. Every time a business creates a vacancy in their organisation, at whatever level, I believe they should first ask whether that role can be filled by an apprentice. Apprenticeships help to ensure your company will have the specialist skills and expertise needed to maintain competitive advantage - both now, and in the future. Trevor Luker Managing Director Pearson Work Based Learning who we work with

4 BTEC It s all in the brand Over the last 25 years, BTEC qualifications have helped millions of people develop the skills they need to get on in life. Engaging and inspiring, these vocationally-related qualifications are suitable for a wide range of ages and abilities. They provide a practical, real-world approach to learning without sacrificing any of the essential subject theory. BTEC qualifications can be taken as well as, or in place of, GCSEs and A levels and alongside Diplomas in schools and colleges, and BTEC Apprenticeships offer learners the best of all worlds. Provided exclusively by Pearson, BTEC Apprenticeships combine the best elements of its BTEC and Apprenticeship programmes to create the first end-to-end work-based training solution for UK learners. Aligned to a recognised and trusted brand, these Apprenticeships fit neatly into the mindset of the millions of BTEC learners that are already out there. The power of that reputation will reflect directly on you, as they are valued by colleges, universities, employers and professional bodies across the United Kingdom and recognised throughout over 80 countries worldwide. In recent years, the popularity of BTECs has moved onto new levels. In the last year alone, more than a million students enrolled on a BTEC qualification That s one million people who have put their trust in the power and reputation of BTECs to help them achieve their goals and chase their dreams. A MILLION BTEC STUDENTS EACH YEAR In recent years, the popularity of BTECs has really taken off. In 2009/10, we received over 1.1 million BTEC registrations, and one in every two GCSE-level learners took a BTEC.

5 THE VALUE OF APPRENTICESHIPs Apprenticeships have been around for years in various forms. There are a number of reasons why they continue to be so popular amongst employers of all types and sizes: Build the best workforce Apprenticeships are proven to be one of the most effective ways to recruit, train and develop a loyal and highly skilled workforce for your company. Apprentices can be young recruits straight from school, or can be more experienced employees who want to build up their skill set in the workplace. You can deliver a standardised BTEC Apprenticeship or work with your local learning provider to develop your own customised offer, which can fit straight into your current training and development plans. Essentially, you can accredit training you are already doing. PROVEN RETURN ON INVESTMENT Apprenticeships pay for themselves. Don t just take our word for it though. The following feedback was taken from a 2008 survey commissioned by the Learning Skills Council (LSC): Î Î 77% of employers believe Apprenticeships make them more competitive. Î Î 76% say that Apprenticeships provide higher overall productivity. Î Î 80% feel that Apprenticeships reduce staff turnover. Î Î 88% believe that Apprenticeships lead to a more motivated and satisfied workforce. There are many more supporting statistics which you can see for yourself at It is clear that Apprenticeships really do lead to both short and long term cost savings for all types of organisations. If you train staff and give them opportunities to progress they are much more likely to stay in the organisation and want to be part of its success and growth. It is also more cost-effective to retain staff than to recruit new people. No organisation wants a high labour turnover, especially in today s challenging economic landscape.

6 We ve found our staff are more engaged in their work and seen an increase in staff motivation and satisfaction. This increases our customer satisfaction, because our customers are engaging with a professional workforce, which is important to them. Andy Palmer, Head of Skills for the BT Group

7 IDENTIFY AND FILL YOUR SKILLS GAP Apprenticeships deliver skills catered around your business needs, providing the skilled workers you need for the future. They also help develop the specialist skills needed to stay ahead of the competition and keep upto-date with the latest technology. Your local learning provider can map your existing training schemes to fit into the BTEC Apprenticeship. Flexibility across all sectors Apprenticeships are traditionally seen as being for young people who want to work in areas such as motor mechanics, engineering and construction. Our new selection of BTEC Apprenticeships, however, is the widest and most in-depth suite of qualifications available. Now you can run Apprenticeships in everything from management and team leading to customer service, retail, hospitality, business administration, spectator safety and health and social care. Our new BTEC Apprenticeships provide flexible structures, which align easily with the individual needs of your workplace.

8 We have seen very motivated staff as a result and competency levels of staff have increased, which really gives us a competitive edge. We have seen benefits from the learners point of view too, with promotions and secondments on the rise, which has improved overall staff morale. Kate Metcalfe, Work Based Learning Advisor, npower

9 APPRENTICESHIPS: YOUR QUESTIONS ANSWERED What is an Apprenticeship? A work-based training programme designed around the needs of an employer, which lead to nationally recognised qualifications. Who are they for? You can use Apprenticeships to train both new and experienced employees. Who delivers them? As an employer you can work in partnership with your local learning provider - an FE College or training provider - to deliver BTEC Apprenticeships. Each learning provider will work closely with you to assess how an apprentice will help your organisation and to recruit and train an apprentice. Throughout the Apprenticeship your learning provider will support you in assessing your apprentice(s) and ensure that they are on target to complete the Apprenticeship on time. Where do they take place? The majority of training takes place on the job at your workplace. Delivery methods are flexible and your local learning provider will be able to advise which is best for your organisation. Are there different levels of Apprenticeships? There are three levels of Apprenticeships available for those aged 16 and over Intermediate, Advanced and Higher Apprenticeships. We can work with you to identify which level best suits your employees. What types of Apprenticeships are there? Apprenticeships are available across a wide variety of industry sectors from business administration and finance through to media and design, and transport and logistics. Our website lists all the sectors where a BTEC Apprenticeship is available: What are my responsibilities as an employer? You are responsible for giving your apprentice an induction into their role, providing them with on-the-job training and paying their wage. What does a BTEC Apprenticeship involve? A minimum of 16 hours per week paid employment, however it is anticipated that all employed apprentices will be engaged in working and learning for a minimum of 30 hours per week.

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11 WHy BTEC APPRENTICESHIPs? BTEC Apprenticeships are a new breed of Apprenticeships, entirely focused on the needs of apprentices and their employers. Our fully-integrated solution: Î Î makes Apprenticeship delivery much more time and cost efficient, error-free and profitable. Î Î is built on core BTEC values of flexibility, employability, progression and quality. Î Î incorporates advanced technology such as on-screen testing for more effective learning. can be delivered by your managers with minimum reliance on external consultants. Î Î is supported by an extensive range of assessment materials which align with our flexible approach to assessment. is built on a robust quality assurance model. The BTEC Apprenticeship programme increases our employees confidence and enables them to focus on guest experience, which in turn raises our standards of service. It has not only improved our employee retention, but shows clear progression routes within the hospitality industry. Nicky Scotchford, Apprenticeship Manager, Punch Taverns

12 Apprenticeship Framework In April 2011, the government introduced a new framework for Apprenticeship delivery in England - the Specification of Apprenticeship Standards for England (SASE).* Apprenticeships support progressive learning through a structured framework which provides industry sector approved skills through a set of nationally recognised qualifications. Each of these components can also be taken as stand-alone qualifications if preferred. Competence Either a QCF competencebased qualification such as an NVQ with assessment designed to test competence, or an approved in-house programme. Employee Rights and Responsibilities (ERR) Normally covered as part of the Award in BTEC WorkSkills for Effective Learning and Employment, this component ensures individuals understand company and legislative policy. ** Personal Learning and Thinking Skills (PLTS) These themes describe the qualities and skills needed for success in learning and life, and are comprised of six groups of skills: Apprenticeship Framework independent enquirers creative thinkers reflective learners team workers self-managers effective participants. Knowledge Some Apprenticeships have a technical certificate while others demonstrate knowledge within the QCF competence-based qualification element. Transferable Skills Ensures individuals hold the appropriate skills businesses require covering Maths, English and IT. With our Apprenticeships the technical certificates are usually a BTEC qualification. * In Wales, the ASCL Act will introduce the Specification of Apprenticeship Standards for Wales (SASW) in Autumn 2011 and, wherever possible, we will seek consistency between the specifications for the two countries. ** The Award in BTEC WorkSkills for Effective Learning and Employment is included free as part of the BTEC Apprenticeship framework. It enables learners to gain credit for their coverage of ERR, while achieving a formal qualification.

13 Supporting NPOWER in delivering Customer Service qualifications SUMMARY Customer profile Npower is a leading integrated UK energy company supplying gas, electricity and related services to residential and business customers. Qualifications Key Skills BTEC Apprenticeships Business benefits 85% achievement rate Increased staff motivation and competency Improved staff morale resulting from an increase in promotions and secondments The customer Npower is a leading integrated UK energy company supplying gas, electricity and related services to residential and business customers. They operate and manage a flexible portfolio of coal, gas and oil-fired power stations. Npower also manage a portfolio of combined heat and power plants. The challenge Npower wanted to increase their staff competency levels, by offering qualifications tailored to an individual s needs. Personalised support was a key requirement for Npower, to ensure learners would gain the most from their qualification and benefit from potential career development and opportunities. As an organisation committed to staff development, Npower wanted to introduce a programme of qualifications that would support productivity and reduce staff turnover by educating their workforce.

14 The solution Npower chose national training provider, Intraining, to deliver Edexcel qualifications to their staff. Intraining delivers a wide range of qualifications across many sectors working in partnership with Pearson Work Based Learning. After undertaking a training-needs analysis, Npower selected Key Skills and a range of BTEC Apprenticeship qualifications at Levels 2 and 3 in Business Administration and Customer Service. The outcome Npower was impressed with the service and oneon-one support for their staff. Work Based Learning Advisor, Kate Metcalfe, from Npower, said: Offering Edexcel s qualifications has had a positive impact on our business. We have seen very motivated staff as a result and competency levels of staff has increased, which really gives us a competitive edge. We have seen benefits from the learners point of view too, with promotions and secondments on the rise, which has improved overall staff morale. Offering Edexcel s qualifications has had a positive impact on our business. We have seen very motivated staff as a result and competency levels of staff has increased, which really gives us a competitive edge. Kate Metcalfe Work Based Learning Advisor, Npower The level of service we receive from Intraining and Edexcel is exceptional; anything we need is pretty much available on demand, added Kate. Our achievement rates are currently above average at 85%. We would definitely recommend Pearson Work Based Learning and Edexcel s qualifications to other companies. said Kate.

15 Getting started in delivering a BTEC Apprenticeship BTEC Apprenticeships have been designed to make it easy for employers to take on and train an apprentice. There are a number of ways you can find out more about taking on an apprentice and how you can benefit from this form of training: Group Training Associations (GTAs) and Apprenticeship Training Agencies (ATAs) Pearson Work Based Learning can connect you with GTAs and ATAs. They have been set up with the purpose of helping small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) that may have not have the resources to run their own Apprenticeship programmes. These organisations can help minimise exposure and risk by providing the apprentice with legal employed status. BTEC Apprenticeships are available in: Business Administration childcare cleaning and Facilities Management construction customer Service engineering Finance hair & Beauty health & Social care hospitality, leisure and tourism information technology (it) Media & design public & uniformed Services Retail, Sales & Marketing Security Sport team leading & Management training & education transport & logistics Î Î Training Providers Training providers are organisations who specialise in working closely with employers to deliver work based learning and vocational training. They are based on both a local and national level and many are experts in specific sectors. Again, they are experts in working with employers to develop and run Apprenticeship programmes in their organisation. Î Î FE Colleges We work closely with almost every FE College in the UK to develop and deliver BTEC qualifications across a wide range of subjects and sectors. FE Colleges work closely with their local employers to develop apprenticeship schemes and recruit the right people for those vacancies. They are very experienced in working with employers to plan and run apprenticeship programmes. Î Î To contact your local provider please see the details on the back of this brochure. Alternatively contact us on or btecapprenticeships@pearson.com and we can put you in touch with your local BTEC Apprenticeship provider.

16 Contact YOUR LOCAL PROVIDER: BTEC is a registered trademark of Edexcel ltd. Edexcel limited. Registered in England and Wales no Registered office: 190 High Holborn, London,WC1V 7BH. Vat reg no Publication code: Z June btecapprenticeships@pearson.com Tel: Disclaimer We have endeavoured to ensure that all the information here is correct at the time of publication, but give notice that some details could change as we develop and improve the products and services that we offer. We are not liable for any losses, damages, liabilities, claims and expenses arising from the use of any of this information.