Vital

Apprenticeships

What are Apprenticeships?

As employees, apprentices earn a wage and work alongside experienced staff to gain job-specific skills. Off the job, usually on a day-release basis, apprentices receive training to work towards nationally recognised qualifications. Anyone living in England, over 16 years-old and not in full-time education can apply.

Who are they for?

Apprenticeships are open to all age groups above 16years-old whether you are just leaving school, have been working for years or are seeking to start a new career. You just need not to be taking part in full-time education.

There may be different entry requirements depending on the Apprenticeship and the industry sector. However competition for places with employers can be fierce, so you will need to show that you are committed, and aware of your responsibilities to both yourself and the company who would employ you. You also need to be happy to work as both part of a team and individually, and be able to use your own initiative.

Training

Apprenticeships are designed with the help of the employers in the industry, so they offer a structured programme that takes you through the skills you need to do a job well. There are targets and checks to make sure that your employer is supporting you and you are making progress.

As an employee you will be in employment for most of your time as most training takes place on the job. The rest usually takes place at a local college or a specialist training organisation. You can complete this off-the-job training on day release or over a number of days in a block. The amount of time you spend varies according to your Apprenticeship. It could be anything from one day every other fortnight to two days every week. So all the things you study will be useful in your job and help you succeed in your future career.

Levels

Apprenticeships are increasingly recognised as the gold standard for work-based training. There are over 85,000 employers offering Apprenticeships in more than 130,000 locations; there are over 200 Apprenticeships suitable for hundreds of job roles. There are three levels of Apprenticeship available:

1 - Intermediate Level Apprenticeships

· Intermediate apprentices work towards work-based learning qualifications such as an NVQ Level 2, Key Skills and, in some cases, a relevant knowledge-based qualification such as a BTEC.

· These provide the skills you need for your chosen career and allow entry to an Advanced Level Apprenticeship.

2 - Advanced Level Apprenticeships

· Advanced level apprentices work towards work-based learning qualifications such as NVQ Level 3, Key Skills and, in most cases, a relevant knowledge-based certificate such as a BTEC.

· To start this programme, you should ideally have five GCSEs (grade C or above) or have completed an Intermediate Level Apprenticeship.

3 - Higher Apprenticeships

· Higher Apprenticeships work towards work-based learning qualifications such as NVQ Level 4 and, in some cases, a knowledge-based qualification such as a Foundation degree.

All Apprenticeships must include the following elements:

· A competencies qualification which must be achieved by the apprentice to qualify for an Apprenticeship certificate, and which is the qualification required to demonstrate competence in performing the skill, trade or occupation to which the framework relates

· A technical knowledge qualification which is the qualification required to demonstrate achievement of the technical skills, knowledge and understanding of theoretical concepts and knowledge and understanding of the industry and its market relevant to the skill, trade or occupation to which the framework relates. Sometimes an Apprenticeship framework may have an integrated qualification which combines competence and technical knowledge elements in which each element is separately assessed.

· Either Key Skills (e.g. working in teams, problem-solving, communication and using new technology) or Functional Skills (e.g. Maths and English) qualifications or a GCSE with enhanced content (e.g. Maths and English).

Energy & Utilities

Vital have a strong commitment to training and staff development within the company. This is very clearly demonstrated in our metering business. Following our initial success in securing metering contracts it became clear that the availability of suitably trained and skilled resource was limited.

In order to ensure that the quality of our staff was maintained at the levels that we and our clients expected we committed to establishing a training centre at our iverpool office.

In consultation with our clients we recruited a training manager and established procedures and documentation to ensure that all aspects of safety and vocational training were fully covered during the training course. .

Training bays that simulate the on site arrangements were installed and a lecture room was built. A detailed recruitment procedure was put in place to ensure that all trainees were confirmed as suitable for the course. The training has an emphasis on safe working and concentrates on all aspects of single and three phase metering with CT metering to be introduced during 2009.

Following the training and internal assessment the trainees are presented to the relevant client for further interview and assessment prior to authorisation. Following this they undertake a period of on site mentoring with an existing experienced member of our workforce, an additional review is then undertaken and if approved the operatives begins site work. A detailed auditing regime is undertaken on an ongoing basis for all operatives..

To date in excess of two hundred trainees have successfully completed our training and have gone on to be fully authorised meter installers. During 2008 and 2009 our trainees have received a qualification at NVQ level 2. As a result of the success of our Liverpool training centre we have now established a further metering training centre at our Manchester training base.

This will allow us to increase both the volume and content of our training and further demonstrates our commitment to the industry.

Generic Health & Safety

At Vital Skills Training we understand the daily pressures faced by businesses in delivering and monitoring essential health, safety & environmental training.

However, it is absolutely vital that all your employees are fully aware of their responsibilities for health and safety in the workplace. Preventing accidents must be a priority for employers and our training programmes are designed to help you avoid the potentially disastrous consequences of dealing with an incident.

Whatever your industry or type of organisation, it is imperative that health and safety training regulations are fully adhered to.

Vital Skills Training's health and safety training courses cover a range of different areas, including: rail, utilities, construction as well as more generic health & safety training- which makes us the first choice for all of your health and safety training needs.

M&E and Construction

Vital has in house instructors delivering training for Mobile Elevated Work Platforms (MEWPS). The one day courses cover Boom Lift or Scissor Lift or both and Harness Training if required. Our trainers are based in Bristol 01179 041 250 and Glasgow 01689-573-850 and cover the whole of the UK. We can provide bespoken training packages so please contact the numbers detailed for more information.

Rail

At Vital, we’ve always recognised that safety is paramount. As training is such an essential part of this, our own training company, which offers not only the traditional Safety Critical Courses (Rail Training Audit Services) Approved, but also various Plant Proficiency courses, Track Induction Training, Health & Safety Courses (First Aid, Manual Handling etc.) and I.T Training.

Our licensed Track Safety Assessors are an integral part of our training operation, and complement the ongoing engineering skills assessments undertaken. We also operate our own accredited NVQ centre and are one of just a handful of companies delivering Level 2 & 3 NVQ’s in Permanent Way Engineering.

Vital Rail’s own staff supervisors have either achieved the NVQ level 2/3 qualification or are currently working towards it.

Vital Rail recognises the need to train its management staff to reflect changes in the business and our I.T Training has greatly assisted in this regard

Trainer Assessment

'TAQA' stands for:



T...raining

A...ssessment

Q...uality

A...ssurance

These qualifications are for anyone working in - or hoping to take up a role in - assessment and internal quality assurance. They were developed by LLUK to replace the Assessor and Verifier (A&V) units which expired on 31 December 2010. They are designed for use in England, Wales and Northern Ireland - a different set of qualifications exists in Scotland.

The TAQA units and qualifications provide people who carry out assessment and internal quality assurance roles in their organisation with the opportunity to develop and improve their practice as well as achieving a professional qualification for their roles. They have been developed for those working in accredited learning, non-accredited learning, the NQF and the QCF.

There are awards and a certificate at level 3 in assessment and awards and a certificate at level 4 in internal quality assurance. In addition - to complete the suite of qualifications - during 2011 units and qualifications for trainers and tutors will be launched.

The qualifications consist of a mix of units - some competence-based and some knowledge-based units. The knowledge-only units (which are titled 'Understanding the principles and practices of...') allow anyone who is interested in or needs to know about assessment and quality assurance - but is not a practitioner - to acquire knowledge and information about the roles.

Successful achievers will understand the principles of assessment and internal quality assurance and have the knowledge to develop and improve systems at their centre.

These qualifications will eventually be part of a full framework of qualifications for trainers, assessors and quality assurance personnel.

What are the main differences between A1 and V1 and the TAQA qualifications?

There are a number of key differences:

o The TAQA qualifications have been written for QCF so are credit rated, written on the QCF template, and have QCF levels - which differ from NVQ levels and are available as awards and certificates

o There are mandatory knowledge-only units in each of the qualifications

o They are open to anyone who is carrying out assessment and quality assurance roles - not just for those working with NVQs

o They have been developed for those working in accredited learning, non-accredited learning, the NQF and the QCF and can be used by people who do not assess qualifications but who assess competence in the workplace

o There is a unit specifically designed for assessors who do not assess competence in the workplace

o There is also a qualification for quality assurance staff who manage or co-ordinate the work of teams of internal quality assurers

Assessment methods

Different units will include different assessment requirements and methods - all of which will be familiar to existing assessors and quality assurance staff.

For the units where competence is being assessed, methods will include:

· observation of performance in the work environment

· examining products of work

· questioning the learner

· discussions with the learner

· use of others (witness testimony)

· looking at learner statements

· recognising prior learning

For the units where vocational skills, knowledge and understanding are being assessed, methods will include:

· oral and written questions

· assignments

· projects

· case studies

· recognising prior learning.