UVAC, as one of five consortium partners of the Department for Education (DfE) funded Apprenticeship Workforce Development programme, was very pleased to be involved in the early CPD live-online and face-to-face activity which ran between April and July.  

37 universities participated making up around 11% of all organisations who benefited from the excellent expertise of the trainers, and this is reflected in the 98% satisfaction level recorded of the skills and knowledge of those who delivered the content and facilitated the discussion. 

With overall satisfaction rates described as ‘very good’, the early CPD provided an opportunity for learning in a collaborative manner and in putting key learning into practice on themes including principles and models of curriculum delivery.  These early modules did not speak directly to the university experience of delivering higher and degree apprenticeships but the planned programme for a second phase of CPD is being designed for all types of providers delivering all levels of apprenticeships. It is also specifically designed to increase the sector wide quality of apprenticeship delivery and for improving the apprenticeship achievement rates aligned with the DfE target of 67% by 2025. Information on this next range of CPD delivery will be available during September.

Collaborative project

UVAC has been mentoring a number of individual practitioner improvement projects plus a collaborative project led by Middlesex University and Consalia with The Open University.

In October, these projects will be reporting on good practice, pedagogical approaches and transferable key success characteristics for apprenticeship design and delivery including for degree apprenticeships. 

Middlesex University and its research partners have sought provider insights on existing delivery for degree apprenticeships in contexts where employers and stakeholders contributed to the curriculum and apprentices joined networks in academic and work-associated circles. Particularly, the project explores significant delivery issues such as how to achieve greater involvement in workplace learning, integrating practice and theory, dialogue between tutor and workplace mentor, and better support for tutors and apprentices for developing learning portfolios. 

A main aim of this project is to create a roadmap that focuses on providing insights into delivering a more integrated learning experience for apprentices. There is no doubt that the project outputs will become valuable resources for ongoing CPD.

Practitioner Improvement Project – University of Portsmouth

UVAC have been pleased to mentor a number of individual practitioner improvement projects in support of the Apprenticeship Workforce Development (AWD) programme. 

One of these projects has been delivered by the University of Portsmouth. 

This project aims to develop a line manager toolkit to support employers new to managing an apprentice through their learning journey and beyond in their careers.

The toolkit will cover a number of areas that contribute to the success of the chartered manager degree apprenticeship, better linking the workplace learning with campus-based delivery. There is no doubt that the project’s outputs will become valuable resources for ongoing CPD for providers of this apprenticeship standard and for adaptation to other job roles and professions.

Practitioner Improvement Project – Babington Business College

UVAC have been pleased to mentor a number of individual practitioner improvement projects in support of the Apprenticeship Workforce Development (AWD) programme. 

One of these projects has been delivered  by Babington Business College on improving the apprenticeship remote learning experience for learners with visual impairments. 

This unique research aims to use collaborative practice and high quality CPD to improve staff knowledge and skills so are better equipped to support online learners with visual impairments. This has led to work to adapt curriculum and develop appropriate technology to provide accessibility for those with visual impairments. By building and managing learning resources and curriculum plans for inclusive delivery, Babington Business College aim to continuously enhance the curriculum design to improve learning accessibility and increase learner confidence.  

There is no doubt that the project’s outputs will become valuable resources for ongoing CPD for providers who are reviewing the whole apprenticeship journey from onboarding and enrolment to evaluating whether current learner adaptations and processes are fit for purpose.