LSIS Flexibility and Innovation Fund You re Hired! The Power of Apprenticeships: Promoting, Progressing and unlocking Potential College of Northwest London Historically, the College of North West London has recruited and delivered training to Apprentices within the Construction and Engineering Industry. The project aims to test the demand for Apprenticeships within a number of new vocational areas / disciplines identified via research carried out by the project team. Project synopsis The main focus of the project was to identify the potential of developing additional apprenticeship provision at the College of North West London. We targeted over 1000 employers within North West and West London. The key findings of the project were: Employers from a variety of different sectors requested support in sourcing apprentices Some sector areas were not receptive to apprenticeships Managing expectations of the Employer, Apprentice and Stakeholders is paramount The research findings indicate that most employers would employ an apprentice if the individual showed commitment, interest and passion for the job. Project aims A significant part of the project was to engage with employers and research and evaluate those who would employ an apprentice or not. The survey consisted of 7 questions and would form the basis of the Project Teams research and results. The aims, outputs and outcomes of the project are summarised within the table below: Project Aim Output Outcome Research carried out with small and medium sized businesses. Employer needs and barriers were identified using the documents below: Identify employer needs and barriers to take up apprentices Increased knowledge of employer needs and barriers Telephone surveys 98 completed Business Needs Analysis 141 completed Page 1
Key drivers and barriers for learners and parents Employer needs Would like an individual that is committed and interested in the role Developing a skilled individual (ages 19+) Growth of business Addressing a skills gap Replacing an ageing workforce Management resource Financial and resource cost of an Apprentice is both meeting a need and a barrier Employer Barriers Some employers have the perception that an apprentice requires more support in the workplace Finding cover for College training days Employer is too small and cannot accommodate an Some sectors use interns and work experience to meet resource needs as there is no financial cost to the employer Employer co-funded element A survey was completed with a selection of Learners currently enrolled on a College core funded programme. Learner Key drivers Learning a skill whilst being paid Getting a qualification Building a career Learner Barriers Interested in becoming an apprentice, but unable to find an employer Does not hold the minimum qualifications required for an apprenticeship Increased knowledge and understanding of learners and parents perception of apprenticeships Page 2
Identify gaps in stakeholder knowledge. Stakeholders include: National Apprentice Service Employers Learners Parents Jobcentre Plus Brent Council College staff Develop clear, flexible and progressive pathway for apprentices Produce promotional resource and engagement strategies using multi-media This survey was completed with the following: Parents who have children who are apprentice Parents who would like their child to be an apprentice Parents Key Drivers Get a job with career prospects Not solely an academic route Hands on experience Happy that their son / daughter does not have to go to University and incur increased fees Parent Barrier Apprenticeship must offer career progression and opportunity Unaware of availability of funding No concept of removal of age limit Not aware of the College s increased apprenticeship offer Communicated to key stakeholders the entry point for potential apprentices via completion o f BNA Develop promotional resource The Employers Role document Increase in apprenticeship offers by 4 new frameworks Apprenticeship starts in new product offer Better understanding of availability of funding and age removal Employer is aware of the apprentice engagement process College is working with the National Skills Academy for Environmental Technologies, to develop a new apprenticeship framework Apprenticeship section on new CNWL website, which will include Apprentice and Employer profiles, blogs and case studies Page 3
The project was deemed innovative as it anticipated the need of passing on vital knowledge and policy of apprenticeships to employers and stakeholders. This was addressed during the 141 Employer visits and 98 completed surveys and attending stakeholder meetings. Project Delivery Research carried out by the Project Team identified a lack of knowledge and understanding of apprenticeships amongst key stakeholders. During the first quarter of the project, regular meetings were held to address knowledge gaps and identify barriers to increase the Colleges apprenticeship offer. An example of gaps in Stakeholder knowledge is detailed in the table above. It was agreed that Stakeholders would assist the Project Team in the development of apprenticeships that were new to the College of North West London. This resulted in the following new apprenticeships being offered: Hairdressing Childcare Health and Social Care Fibrous Plastering It was also agreed that from September 2012 apprentices could start throughout the academic year as opposed to the traditional start date of September. This gives the College the opportunity to recruit all year round rather than at a specific period once a year. A document entitled The Employers Role was developed and distributed during each employer visit and was also sent via email to those who participated in the survey. Information addressing the knowledge gap amongst learners was posted on our website and contact details were given if further clarification was required. Having carried out 141 employer visits one common theme became apparent. Employers from a variety of sectors identified the difficulty in recruiting staff and requested support in sourcing suitable staff to fill the vacancies available. Although this support was anticipated, the level of demand exceeded our expectations and therefore did not feature in the project team s action plan. In order to address this, the Project Team developed a new process involving the Colleges Employability Team, which resulted in the apprenticeship vacancy being available to a wider audience. If we could do things differently we would have change two things: When sourcing apprentices became apparent, involving the Employability Team should have commenced at an earlier stage Going forward we will continue to engage with Employers, Stakeholders and Learners to continue to address knowledge gaps and identify potential new apprenticeships. Page 4
Project Outcomes Surveys were carried out and visits arranged with employers from the following sectors: Hairdressers Finance Retail Maintenance Engineering Responses to the surveys were analysed to identify any trends or common perceptions. The analysis was used to give an overall opinion of employers in order to give a broader view of employer s perception of the positive and negatives of apprenticeships. From the surveys carried out with employers from the Finance and Retail sectors, results indicated that they were not receptive to employing apprentices. This is evidenced in the table below and shows that in both sectors 4% of those companies surveyed have employed an apprentice previously: Sample Survey Questions Sector/Number of Surveys Have you ever taken on an apprentice%? Now that funding is available for apprentices would you consider employing one in the future%? Yes No Yes No Hairdressers 31 84 16 58 42 Finance 23 4 96 43 57 Retail 25 4 96 48 52 Maintenance Engineering 68 32 58 42 19 Overall % 40% 60% 52% 48% With regards to the impact of the project to our service users, it would be fair to say that a number of processes have been developed and adjusted to meet the needs of the learners, employers and stakeholders. These include: Employer engagement raised awareness and knowledge of apprenticeships. Increase apprenticeship offer by 4 additional frameworks Learner engagement providing a wider apprenticeship offer Recruitment process development of a new recruitment process Marketing process created new promotional material and planned telemarketing campaigns However, it is too early to measure the impact of the changes that have been implemented. Our expectation is that we will see results of our endeavours at the earliest September 2012 onwards. Sharing of Project Findings What has been learnt during the project and the outcomes will be available to the wider sector via the College s website. Page 5