Traineeship vs Skills Bootcamp? Which is right for you?
We get it. You’re about to embark on a new career, filled with excitement and aspiring to the future when suddenly you’re met with more questions and decisions than ever before…
….Pfft! Let’s be real, it’s an absolute minefield.
Thankfully at RE:geon Training, we’re here to lighten the load when it comes to navigating the options out there. This week’s article takes a look at the differences between a Traineeship (one of our big buzz words at the moment) and a Skills Bootcamp (an even bigger buzz word about to smash all other courses and programme types out of the park!) So go on, have a scroll…?
What is a Traineeship?
Traineeship is the new buzz word these days. But what does it actually mean? Well, a traineeship is a skills development programme that perfectly blends classroom style theory and learning with real-life work experience.?Typically, a traineeship is open to anyone between the ages of 16-24 but through an increase in funding streams, we’ve been able to put a real focus on boosting the 19-24s bracket within the North East.?(You lucky bunch!)
How does a Traineeship work?
A traineeship at RE:geon begins with a pre-screening process where we access your suitability and eligibility for the course, as well as identifying where you’ll benefit most so that we can tailor the programme to you. From here we move swiftly into your Functional Skills Assessment to get to grips with where you are in your current learning journey.
Our aim, no matter where you currently sit with Functional Skills is to boost you up into a higher grade. How do we do this? Easy! We combine functional skills with your work experience module so everything is practically learned ‘on the job’.?(Sorry classroom, you just don’t quite cut it on your own!)
Our BUILD UP programmes are fully funded schemes, which usually run for 6-8 weeks. This includes 4 weeks of training modules hosted within RE:geon’s training HQ and 2-4 weeks of meaningful work experience with one of our employer partners.
‘Meaningful’ you say? Yes, that’s right. No cuppa making or last-minute post runs in sight! You’re there to carry out key roles and responsibilities within the company you’re placed with in order to BUILD UP a true picture of what the industry looks like, and how the company you represent ‘do things’.
Why is this important? Simple. By getting under the skin of the company you temporarily work for, it gives you a unique chance to leave a lasting impression and provides a real ‘in’ with a potential future employer – far beyond someone on the outside applying cold for any vacancies they’re advertising. Even if you don’t get a job proposal off the back of our traineeship course, your foot is firmly in the door with some seriously influential leaders in the field!
In one of our latest cohorts, we saw a 67% success rate in Traineeship students being offered full time employment to progress into after the Traineeship was complete.?
Traineeships sound GREAT – are there any downsides?
Although traineeships have been a real game changer for us, and something we are still strong advocates for, there are some BIG stumbling blocks that we’re currently facing (and trying to challenge head on) when it comes to delivering them. Most notably this comes down to eligibility criteria! Quite simply put, if you don’t hit the criteria set by the Government and funding streams, you aint getting on the bus!
The most restrictive criteria has been via employment status and age and as a business who’s big on cultivating an “all-in” culture, we’ve found this incredibly frustrating! Especially as a high volume of our applicants with huge aspirations, and even bigger potential have fallen outside of the eligibility criteria!
What’s more, when you get into the nitty gritty of the T&Cs, as part of the Functional Skills aspect to the Traineeship, all learners on the course must achieve a PASS for their Level 2 in Maths, English and Digital Skills in order for it to be recognised for completion. Failure to hit all 3 and it impacts your completion status as a candidate as well as ours as a training provider! And if that wasn’t enough, if you decide to leave the programme early or fail to achieve the required levels to pass, but still manage to progress into work having taken some Traineeship contribution with you, your status is still registered as incomplete or withdrawn. This means that it cannot be officially added to your CV as a qualification, nor can we proudly show our high completion and progression rate even if you are successful with an employer. (Talk about a bummer!)?
That said, whilst Traineeships could be seen to discriminate on age, and potential pass rates, one thing they don’t put any restriction on is physical or mental ability. Across all cohorts we’ve supported candidates with autism, and with varying degrees of deafness. Neither of which present any issue to the running of the course and the learner’s experience of the programme.
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So, there’s the lowdown on Traineeships – how do Skills Bootcamps stack up?
At RE:geon, we’re passionate about finding what’s RIGHT for our learners, and we never rest until we find solutions that do. That’s why we want to share something new with you. Enter the Skills Bootcamps!
What is a Skills Bootcamp Programme?
?Skills Bootcamps are an exciting and pretty TRANSFORMATIONAL new adult education policy rapidly rolling out across the UK. Adult education is a BIGGIE for the Government at the minute. As a result, this presents a great opportunity for you to tap into the programme and take advantage, by stretching and developing your skills for future progression.
That’s not all. Skills Bootcamps are free, (yes free!), flexible AND there’s very little eligibility criteria (woop woop!).
So, how do they work?
Skills Bootcamp programmes are typically delivered within a 60-hour timeframe, spread across up to 16 weeks of study. They are a blended programme comprising of accredited, non-accredited, CPD and real-on-the-job training to give you everything you need to know.
They include:
All you need to qualify for a Skills Bootcamp is to be a human (tick), aged 19 or over (tick) and have a status (huh?). Yep, you read that right. It doesn’t matter what status you have, a Skills Bootcamp can be applicable to anyone, whether you’re in work, self-employed, recently unemployed or returning to work after a break!
Skills Bootcamps give you the perfect foundation to BUILD UP sector-specific skills and fast-track to an interview with a local employer.
Skills Bootcamps are what we call, ‘employer-led’ programmes. What this means is that they are SO much more beneficial to YOU as the learner, as well as more effective for the employer! Why? Well, because they have been designed and part delivered by the employers themselves. By having employers from around the region actively engaged and delivering the Bootcamps, we can ensure that your learner journey is enriched with the right knowledge, reflective of what’s currently going on in the industry in real-time (vs what’s written on an age-old textbook) so that you can transition across from education to employment seamlessly. What’s more, it gives the employers a chance to develop the EXACT skillsets they need for the future and longevity of their businesses. As they can educate candidates on the company culture, mission, vision and values as well as the practical and soft skills required to be successful within the roles they desire. (You could say it’s a match made in heaven!)
By taking an employer-led approach, we saw an 80% succession rate in our last cohort with learners progressing through to employment!
Why is a Skills Bootcamp right for me?
Exclusivity at your fingertips - There’s no denying that Skills Bootcamps really are the best programme out there at the moment for super charging your employability – and we’re incredibly proud to be one of the few Training Providers out there who can currently offer this programme.
Over recent weeks, we’ve been hard at work collaborating with the senior management team of the RE:GEN Group to design bespoke modules to address the skills shortages with the social housing sector - specifically around Decarbonisation and Domestic Retrofit in order to better support their wider Construction supply chain with skills shortages. Not sure what Retrofit is? Check out our blog here
Alongside our close work with RE:GEN, we’re also proud to be partnered with New College Durham who share our passion for looking after supply chain and the wider networks within industries. It’s so important that we all work together to overcome things on both a national and inter-industry level. Whether it be cost of living crisis, sustainability targets or skills shortages – and YOU as a learner have a major part to play in sharing this vision.
So, when it comes to embarking on a new career, and you’re faced with all of the overwhelming questions, we hope that one answer really stands out. And that’s this – THERE IS NO WRONG. Whatever you choose to do has to be RIGHT for YOU as an individual. It doesn’t matter what lane everyone else is in, only the path you want to take is the one which really matters.??
Skills Bootcamps are the perfect chance to enable you to explore what it is you truly want to do – with no limitations or restrictions. They are focussed on the development of your mental, spiritual, emotional and physical wellbeing – with no crazy eligibility criteria in sight. They are here to help you become the best version of yourself and have the best career outcome you always dreamed of.
?With tenders out that we’re currently bidding for, we’re looking to deliver our latest round of Skills Bootcamps from June onwards this year. To express your interest and be one of the first to know about when our new course dates are set to drop, please click here to fill in a short application form and we’ll get back to you as soon as we can!