The new system for training apprenticeships is being phased in now – and operators can benefit from the industry-designed scheme
Apprenticeships are changing.
The process for developing new engineering Apprenticeship Standards in the coach and bus industry is now complete, and several operators are now enrolling apprentices under these Standards.
The old 'Framework' system will be gradually phased out, and there are changes operators need to know about.
Still a way to go
The Standards have been designed by the industry, led by employers, including Arriva – whose Engineering Development Manager, Lloyd Mason, has chaired the ‘trailblazer’ group of operators, training providers and accrediting bodies since its beginning in 2014.
The Standards themselves were published in 2016, but the trailblazers will continue to meet for at least the next six months to develop the content delivered by training providers.
"It's not the end of the story," says Mr Mason. "Having published those documents, we need to ensure that there is a base level of competency.
"This group is about interpreting what the assessment plan tells us, developing the content, and also starting to plan how we will assess the new standards."
The changes
There are several notable changes to the system. The major ones are:
1: Training providers must account for emerging vehicle technology. The growing landscape of clean drivelines and alternatively-fuelled vehicles must now be properly taken into account by training providers. "This is integral to the new apprenticeship Standards, so that the training provider can't say 'this type of vehicle is new, so we don’t have to cover it’," says Mr Mason.
2: 'Phase testing' will be dropped. The Framework allows apprentices to be tested after a block of study or at the end of a term, and for that mark to count towards their final result; under the Standards, only the 'end point' testing will count towards the pass.
"It doesn't mean phase testing can't be done – we'd say it should be done, to measure progression," says Mr Mason. But it means the individual gets tested "holistically" on what they've learned, with less risk of being passed on something they've forgotten.
3: Employers have more responsibility for how apprentices progress. 'Gateways' at the end of each of the first three years will require the employer, as well as the training provider, to decide whether the apprentice is ready to progress to the next year. "They will agree that the apprentice has gained the appropriate level of competence to move through the gateway," says Mr Mason. "So the employer needs to be more engaged during the period of training."
4: Apprentices can go further. Traditionally apprenticeships have resulted in a level 3 qualification, but some new Standards now allow up to level 6 and 7 'degree apprenticeships'.
A degree apprenticeship is yet to be developed specifically for the coach and bus sector, but for Mr Mason, the potential is there. “The challenge we have when we recruit graduate trainees is that yes, they’ve got academic knowledge and understanding, but they have no knowledge of the bus business. We’d like that experience to be gained by growing them from the ground up.”
5: The EPA result is now graded. Apprentices can pass, or they can pass with distinction: There is no ‘merit’ pass. “It’s important that a ‘pass’ means the apprentice is ‘fully competent’,” says Mr Mason – but with exceptional individuals recognised, which, he says, can help operators in succession planning.
Industry design
As before, the apprenticeships last four years – with the first three college-based, before the final ‘improver year’.
While the nature of this long three-year (so far) process has meant that most coach operators simply have not had time to get involved, the Trailblazers have taken coach operators and independent bus operators into account. They have had to – for the government to approve the Standards, they have to be applicable across the whole sector.
In designing the new Standards, smaller operators have been represented by the likes of Trentbarton and Nottingham City Transport.
Smaller operators also benefit from the fact that while the cost of employing the apprentice still falls to them, the training cost is covered by the Apprenticeship Levy, charged to businesses that pay over £3m in wages.
The Trailblazer group have worked hard to deliver a comprehensive set of Apprenticeship Standards that works for the whole industry, at their businesses’ expense. Had the industry refused to engage, a government body would have designed them instead, which would doubtless have led to a poorer scheme that was less fit for purpose for operators.
Comment
In recent decades, apprenticeships have become perceived as less attractive than going to university.
But they still have a lot to offer: A monthly pay packet, no student debt, and a skilled job at the end of it. If the coach and bus sector develops degree apprenticeships in future, Lloyd Mason believes they will be a ‘no-brainer’ for people interested in a transport career.
The government has forced businesses to take the lead on developing apprenticeships, and is charging them a levy to pay for it too. But the result is a scheme designed by the sector for the sector, and with an ageing workforce and shortage of engineers, that’s worth taking advantage of.
