A Guide To Selecting A Suitable Training Provider As A Killer Learning & Development Manager

Let’s discuss a hypothetical scenario; you are a Learning and Development Manager in a large organisation with too much on your plate. One day the HR Director pounces in and says they have just spoken to the CFO and concluded that the business is spending way too much money on training commercially. 

You are now being asked to look at the Digital Apprenticeship Service Account (DAS) to see how many funds there are in the apprenticeship levy and try to use those funds before looking at commercial routes. 

As exciting as this sounds, there are another million other things to do, so how do you do it right? On top of that, there are so many training providers in the market covering programmes that you or your colleagues may be interested in. 

I have put together several factors to consider as a learning professional when selecting a suitable training provider that you can use to your advantage.

Apprenticeship Funding For Levy & Non-Levy Employers

Have you considered funding for levy and non-levy employers? There is a wealth of options from incentive payments to how much it will cost to fund an apprenticeship.

Levy Funded

As an employer, if your annual pay bill is more than, gross ￡3 million, you will be required to pay the apprenticeship levy. You will be able to manage these funds across the apprenticeship service and spend it on things that will benefit your apprentice, such as training.

These regulations apply to both newly hired apprentices and existing members of staff. 

The government will adhere and apply you a 10% attribution to the funds that you already have in your account.

If you don’t do this, you will lose this monthly once the money has been in an account for more than two years. For example, if ￡25,000 was added in January 2018, this will have been removed in January 2020. As an employer, you will pay an amount each month, which can vary depending on bonuses and revenue.

Suppose you fall into the Levy funded bracket and would like to learn more information. Please inform yourself via ‘Funding an apprenticeship for levy payers’ on the government apprenticeship website.

Non-Levy Funded

If you are a company or organisation with an annual bill below ￡3 million a year, you will only have to pay 5% of the total apprenticeship.

For example, if you enlist a Software Developer who comes on as an apprentice who would cost in the region of ￡18,000, you would only have to pay ￡900. The government invests the other 95%; however, this does not include wages. 

Suppose you fall into the Non-Levy funded bracket and would like more information. Please inform yourself via ‘Funding an apprenticeship for non-levy employers’ on the government apprenticeship website. 

So Why Should We Embrace Modern Apprenticeships? 

Before we dive into the underlying factors, please ensure that there is a genuine purpose where you need and are utilising apprenticeships within your business. To ensure the credibility of the information, I decided to jump on a call with Neil John Cunningham to understand what those motivations could be from a learning professional's perspective. 

Neil is an expert in matters of learning and development. In the past, apprentices were hired as 'Cheap labour' and apprenticeships were presumed as a tick box exercise. We are past that phase now, and as a learning professional, you must understand the real purpose of modern apprenticeships so you can educate others in the organisations.

 Some of the underlying motivations could be to:

Reducing Attrition Using Apprenticeships

Apprenticeship programmes last a minimum of 13 months, all the way up to 4 years (depending on the programme). The apprentice would want to see the programme all the way through to gain their qualifications. The only possible way they can do this is by applying their acquired knowledge into their roles working on solving real-life problems for the company in the form of a work-based project. 

Realising the organisation is investing in them, the apprentice is more likely to buy-in to your organisation and therefore less likely to leave mid-way through the programme lowering the staff turnover. 

This is a win-win for the organisation and the learner. Helping passing and retention rates within apprenticeships as a whole. 

Also, there is no barrier to learning outcomes. The apprenticeships are also available for existing staff. We often find most people leaving after 1-2 years of service, and it is typically because there is no structured development in place for them. Staff leading on projects are more likely to complete the programme before leaving if they have the full support of their manager and understand their responsibilities within the role.

How Can I Use Apprenticeships To Be Successful With Succession Planning? 

You can start to strategically build pipelines of talent that can then take on the roles for the next 1-5 years as these roles develop with the business at a reduced cost to hire, train and retain. Along with your graduate programme, you should open up some positions for apprentices where they come in and start on a Level 3 apprenticeship programmethat doesn't pigeonhole the learner too much. 

Once completed, the Level 4 programme can be more specialised, developing them into a specific area if the apprentice does well and is promoted, such as Software Development as an example.

Can I Utilise Apprenticeships To Strengthen My Organisation’s Employee Value Proposition?

If the programmes are successful, you can apply for awards (and when you win), this boosts your Employee Value Proposition for existing and future talent.  This can also be a USP that the talent acquisition team can include when talking to prospective candidates. With the IR-35 again coming into effect, this can help attract some of the freelance contractors to go in-house.

Corporate Social Responsibility Around Apprenticeships

You may come across some instances where educating senior leadership on the benefit of utilising the apprenticeships is not enough. The business may be heading into a completely different direction, or you may have already set-up an effective apprenticeship strategy and still have lots of unspent funds. 

As part of your corporate and social responsibility piece, why not look at transferring some of your levy to smaller employers who can benefit from it. Many organisations such as Microsoft and Amazon have done brilliant work allocating unused apprenticeship funds to other employers.

If you are a small employer looking to dive into apprenticeships and would like to find out if any employer is offering to transfer their funds, the best thing to do is to speak to your provider who may be able to help you. 

It is hard to spend the money because of how it is structured. For example, a level 4 Software Developer apprenticeship is going to cost you ￡18,000. The employer would then pay this over 16-18 months with 20% of this amount held back until the apprentice completes the apprenticeship position they are in. 

Leadership Development Apprenticeships

Several leadership development apprenticeships could be used as quick wins for the senior leadership team to see the value of talent development in action.  We can identify a person from each business unit next in line or ready in a year to go through the apprenticeship. 

While these may not be specific and tailored to your organisation, they are already built, which means they can be rolled out instantly and reported on throughout the term of the programme by the training provider.

IT Talent Development Through Apprenticeships

Often IT departments tend to have higher attrition rates, which is usually due to not many progression or learning and development opportunities. IT qualifications are expensive, and unless you are Jeff Bezos, chances are your commercial training budget has taken a hit from Covid-19 because cash is king right now. 

Apprenticeships are the perfect alternative route because you don't need your commercial L&D budget. Lockdown or not you are paying into the levy each month and more than likely losing money too.

If you are considering any form of IT apprenticeships, you should also bear in mind the changes opposed from April 2021 and onwards. The Institute for Apprenticeships focuses on ensuring that apprenticeship standards are being met through the Digital Route. These changes are being made to improve the overall digital apprenticeship sector standards. 

Suppose you would like to learn more about the changes that will be implemented for Digital Route apprenticeships. In that case, I recommend that you read the ‘Digital Route Review Report’ from the Institute for Apprenticeships.

Nurturing a Data-Driven Culture Within Your Business

Since Covid-19, we are starting to see more organisations becoming methodical in their approach and not relying on traditional gut-instincts to make decisions about their organisation's future, adding new products and services. Leaders are not starting to invest in developing internal data capability by hiring data analysts who work closely with the senior leadership team to make data-driven decisions. 

Instead of paying a considerable sum of money to build a data team full of experts, why not hire 1 or 2 experts and grow the team organically through apprenticeships. 

 Apprentices Working On Change Projects

Individuals working on change projects which may involve the replacement of any legacy systems could be great candidates for an apprenticeship because this will encourage them to complete these projects quickly and efficiently as they will need to show evidence of them applying their learning in their workplace in order to complete and get their qualification.

 Organisational Skill-Gaps and Capabilities

Whether there is a team restructure going on or business, as usual, finding a genuine lack of skills and capability within the company is through a skills audit. While you organise what capacity you need into capability groups and discuss where apprentices could add value to the business, we can identify urgent missing capabilities at those levels.

 Reducing Costs With Apprenticeships  

When hiring new, most apprentices are usually individuals that haven’t started a degree or further education. Therefore they command a lower salary than those with experience. Most Apprenticeship providers can also support recruitment by advertising on the National Apprentice Site on your organisation’s behalf at no extra cost.

Checking that each individual being offered a position, is eligible for the apprenticeship, further reduces talent acquisitions costs.

Now that you have identified a genuine motivation behind utilising your apprenticeship levy, what happens next?

Finding An Apprenticeship That Is Suitable For You 

The first step is narrowing down the field or industry that is most suitable for you when it comes to picking an apprenticeship. At this stage, you should have the head of departments involved as they will be the best department to advise you on anything obvious that would be relevant and useful. Having a job description to hand could be useful! 

Go onto the Institute of Apprenticeships website which has every apprenticeship standard built and approved to-date. You will quickly be able to use job titles and subject areas to find relevant apprenticeships. Each apprenticeship standard will have a deep dive available to read, including:

?       Knowledge, Skills and Behaviours expected of a competent Data Analyst for example

?       Role profile

?       Typical Job Roles the programme may be suitable for

?       Entry Requirements

?       Names of employers involved in building the standard

?       Cost

?       Level

?       Assessment Plan

Find A Good Apprenticeship Provider!  

Each apprenticeship will also include an option called: 'Find an Apprenticeship Provider that delivers this standard' - click that! Make sure you don't just choose one provider but 3-5 so you can compare all and see which one aligns best to your organisation's needs. Now if you are sat in Ashford, Kent like me, this should be pretty straight forward. But what if you are sat in London and have 100's to choose from. 

Institute of Apprenticeships 

When you use the government's website to find a provider that delivers your desired apprenticeship, it will show you a few other useful bits of information apart from the provider name alone:

What training options does the provider have available? Style of training?

It is essential to recognise what training style would work best for the individual you are looking to enrol on an apprenticeship. Due to the 20% off the job requirement, your organisation may have a preference too, so it is essential to check if the training provider only caters for one learning style or a combination of 2 or 3. In order to make life easier, this will be shown under each provider's name on the institute of apprenticeships website and will look like this:

If you would like to learn more about how employers and training providers should meet 20% of the job training requirement for apprentices, please visit the UK government website. Examples and resources are all provided for free from the Education and Skills Funding Agency.  

Day Releases For Learning 

Exactly what it says on the tin. Your learner will have a designated day each week to go to the training centre to cover their learning. To learn more about where you could be established, please talk to your provider as the Institute of Apprenticeships will not hand out this information.

 Block Release With Apprenticeships 

Block Release will usually be a mixture of online and classroom training. On a week by week basis, most of the learning will be delivered remotely. However, over the apprenticeship course, the learners will have set blocked days where they will step away from their office/day job and get in a classroom to focus on their learning over of 2-5 days at a time depending on the programme and provider. 

This is spread out throughout the programme, e.g. month 3, 6, 9. Your learner and line manager would be made aware as soon as they commence their apprenticeship.

Where Will The Apprenticeship Be Completed?

This could mean that the training is delivered either at your workplace or a provider’s training centre.

Other things to check:

?      What is their Employer Satisfaction Rate vs the national average?

?      What is their Learner Satisfaction Rate vs the national average?

?      What is their Achievement Rate vs the national average?

Now in an ideal world, this seems simple enough considering all this info should be visible under each provider's name. The problem is that the website still has out of date figures and training styles listed, making it very difficult to go on this alone, which is why, after realising the general trend, you will be able to pick a few providers that you like.

Check The Provider Website 

This will give you a snapshot of their overall offering, more information on the programme you are interested in, case studies etc. It also creates an initial impression. Each provider would have personal detail forms for you to complete and submit if you would like someone to contact you. Fill it out and wait for someone to contact you. 

This will also show how quickly a provider comes back to your enquiry. Once you are contacted, put some time in the diary to discuss further, ideally giving yourself a week to 2 weeks so, you have time for some initial due diligence. Here are some of the things that I would look for:

 Provider Reviews 

Check reliable apprenticeship provider review websites such as ratemyapprenticeship.co.uk and straight away you will start to understand what the provider is good at and what areas they may not be performing so well on. It is essential to check from a learner and an employer perspective, e.g., the provider is fantastic in providing the learning but may not be so great at reporting back on-going progress of their learners. 

Something you as a learning professional need to keep track of so you can demonstrate ROI.

 Pastoral Support 

One of the things that HR and learning professionals always ask me about is 'What pastoral support do you have in place for our learners? Do you also support anyone with a learning difficulty?' This question has become a common theme across the business, especially with Covid-19. Fundamental questions, and I would urge you to ask any provider you are engaged with to get a straight answer. 

Most training providers would have Safeguarding officers in place to protect their learners. This may be one person or more. In further addition to this, there will be support available for mental health-related issues and some cater to learning difficulties. 

This can all be built into the overall support package offered to anyone in your organisation on an apprenticeship with the right provider. 

Diversify & Get Subject Specialist Providers 

Do not put all your eggs in one basket! If you are a large organisation looking to dip your toe into utilising the apprenticeship levy. Why not start small at first. Pick two providers if you are not sure and run a pilot. You should be able to identify which provider is doing well and which one is not. Always go for a training provider specialising in a particular area such as IT, leadership, Coaching, HR, and Finance.

Furthermore,  just because a training provider you are talking to is massive in terms of size, it does not automatically make them better! 

 Check Ofsted Inspection Report 

Read the Ofsted report from the provider's last visit. It is vital to make sure that the provider you are about to engage with is compliant. Personally, I would not work with a provider with an Ofsted rating lower than Good. This report will also shed some light on what the provider is great at and where do they need improvement. Having this information would help you ask the right questions when you speak with the training provider and put your mind at ease before moving forward.

 Questions To Ask A Training Provider 

• What is your learner attendance rate on your programmes?
• What is the skills coach to learner ratio? Anything above 50 is not a great sign (chances are coaches will be overworked and may not be able to provide your learner with the support they need or they may leave).
• How do you report employers on learner progress?
• What additional support do you have in place for any learner that may be struggling?
• Ask about the professional background of the tutors and skills coaches that will be working with your learner?
• Find out how they ensure that only eligible individuals are being enrolled on the programmes?
• What support is available to you from the account management team. Working with L&D professionals, one of the common challenges I come across is the struggle to educate the rest of the business that apprenticeships are notfor 16-year-olds  anymore. What support can the provider give you to help get the buy-in from your stakeholders?

Ask For A Reference 

If you are a larger organisation and looking to engage with a provider to enrol 10+ delegates, do not be afraid to ask them for a reference. Ideally,  you want to speak to someone already working with them in the same industry as you.

Other Things You Can Do To Learn More About The Apprenticeship World

Here are some things that you can do to learn more about apprenticeships and the community that surrounds them! 

Use Your LinkedIn! 

Connect with account managers from various providers you express interest in to keep up-to-date with what is available. Follow regulatory bodies such as Ofsted and the ESFA who will always post useful information for training providers and employers. This will keep you up to date with any apprenticeships' changes and how employers can compliantly run them in their organisations.

Attend Round Tables 

Attend apprenticeship related webinars or roundtables. These tend to be hosted by regulatory bodies, apprenticeship providers and End Point Assessment Organisations. This may become a useful networking platform. It is essential to meeting other learning professionals who have successfully embedded apprenticeships within their organisations. 

Meet other professionals who have experience doing this as it allows you to gain valuable insights that can be applied within your organisation. This also opens doors for organisations to collaborate with one another.  

With all the above information, you will meet with training providers and ask the questions you need before going back to your superiors to make a recommendation. 

I asked Neil’s advice on a couple of steps any learning professional can take when they are at the beginning of their organisation's apprenticeship journey, and this is what he said:

?    Team up with someone outside the L&D team. I would go to someone in Finance and find out if they already have access to the Digital Account (DAS). Get them to add you as an admin so you can see how much money you currently have sitting in the pot. 

?    Educate the leadership team about what the apprenticeship levy is and why is it important.

?    Leave it on the SLT agenda when meeting to discuss updates.

?    Go around the business and talk about apprenticeships to understand how your peers perceive them. 

?    Address the beliefs with reality.

?    Meet with department heads to understand their training requirements and where apprenticeship could be a good fit.

?    Managers need to be briefed - make sure they are prepared and are not blindsided at the last second.

?    Choose your provider. Make sure that department heads and managers are involved when discussing apprenticeship needs for anyone in the business.

?    The business needs to be aware that the goal of hiring apprentices or putting someone on the apprenticeship is that they finish it.  They must be willing to commit to the individual.  Not just because it is a decent thing to do, but that providers have to report what % of their apprentices finish it.  If you’re losing/firing your apprentices before they finish, then it brings down the providers results, and they won’t want to work with you.

Understand & Study Apprenticeship Terminology

Studying the terminology around apprenticeships is a great way to get yourself prepared. Even learning the basis acronyms and phrases can help you land that position or role you've been looking at. Have a peek at the ‘Glossary of Terms’ from the Institute of Apprenticeships. 

They have a great range of terminology basics and knowledge around apprenticeships that you can use to your advantage, from trailblazer groups to developing proposals.

Get these things right, and there is no reason why you will not get the backing of setting up a successful apprenticeship scheme. Now, this is not a set recipe, just how I would choose a training provider if I was on the other side of the table. 

When the apprenticeship levy first came out, some organisations out there had a terrible experience with providers in the past which has led them to scrap apprenticeships entirely. They simply are not using their pot and paying for the same qualifications commercially. When you learn how to peddle a bike for the first time and fall, you do not quit but get back up and keep going!  The same principle applies here.

I hope you have found this information useful! To learn the benefits that apprenticeships can offer, please read ‘The Net Benefit to Employer Investment In Apprenticeship Training’ report from Education and Employers.