Opportunities for collaborative partnership bid with UVAC

The National Apprenticeship Service has recently launched the Higher Apprenticeship Fund Prospectus. Designed to support the growth of Higher Apprenticeships, the Government have announced £25m of additional funding. The funding will be used to support a whole range of activities, including initiatives to support small to medium size employers take on more higher apprentices.  More information on the fund is available on the NAS website.

As you will be aware, UVAC has conducted significant research and has several publications on apprenticeship progression and higher apprenticeship going back as far as 2005, and is currently working on two projects which aim to promote and embed Higher Apprenticeship (see below for details).

Building upon our previous and current experience of higher apprenticeship, UVAC would be interested in working with members to jointly bid for funding for collaborative projects under the terms of the prospectus.  If your institution/organisation would like to express interest in developing, with UVAC, a collaborative partnership bid to the fund, would you please complete the ‘Expression of Interest’ proforma and return to Caroline McKevitt by Monday 8^th August 2011.

Please note:  The closing date for applications to the fund is Friday 16 September 2011, so relevant personnel will need to be available between these dates to develop any agreed bid.

Current UVAC Higher Apprenticeship projects

The Provision of a Promotion and Co-ordination Service for the Future Delivery of Higher Apprenticeship – this project is seeking to provide a promotion and co-ordination service for the future development of Higher Apprenticeship in the context of supporting apprenticeship progression to higher level learning programmes and supporting employers to develop and invest in the skills of their employees for future business growth.  In addition, an exemplar project – the development of a Construction Higher Level Apprenticeship Framework (to include Foundation Degrees to deliver and accredit the Technical and Competence components of the Higher Apprenticeship) – is being undertaken in partnership with Construction Skills. More information on the project can be found on the project website.

Turning Rhetoric into Reality – Implementing the Concept of Higher Apprenticeship through HE/FE Partnerships – a project for Middlesex University – for this project, UVAC is working with Middlesex University to promote and champion Higher Apprenticeship.  Activity so far has included a review of existing literature and published good practice on Higher Apprenticeship and Professional Apprenticeship, including contrasting the approach in England to Higher Apprenticeship and Professional Apprenticeship within other European countries; a call for evidence and examples of the current and potential role of HEIs, FECs, LLNs and other partners in the development and delivery of Higher Apprenticeships and a networking event for providers and partners to share ideas on the development of Higher Apprenticeship, in line with the objectives of the project and evidence collected.  More information on the project can be found on the project website.

Please note that this information has also been circulated by email and therefore may have also been received by others in your institution/organisation.