3 Unique Features of Our Apprenticeships
When we first started looking into offering Apprenticeships as part of our services, we looked at what other providers were doing and noticed a few things that made us scratch our heads…in particular… using a ‘One-Size-Fits-All’ approach with virtual only delivery and charging extra for services we thought should be included like psychometric assessments.
So with this in mind, we discussed it with our partners in Kendal College to include 3 key features of our Apprenticeships that separate us from the rest…
We tailor the content so it is specific to your organisation.
Most providers follow the Apprenticeship Standard ‘to the letter’ meaning you receive an ‘off-the-shelf’ programme that isn’t necessarily tailored to your organisation’s culture, objectives or learning requirements. This can result in duplication of existing training content and a ‘beige’ experience for apprentices.
At Penguin, we tailor the content and context to your organisation as long as these fall within the apprenticeship standard, for example:
As part of our apprenticeships, we have to cover coaching fundamentals/models but if for example, you already cover the GROW coaching model within your organisation…we can either keep this in or change it for an alternative/advanced coaching model depending on your preferences, just as long as we deliver the coaching element as part of the apprenticeship. Make sense?
Other examples include:
Designing a workbook that includes your company values, colour codes, images, text formats etc.
Aligning the context to your company values and culture to ensure we are referring to internal job titles, process’s used, development journey’s etc.
Using relevant scenarios e.g. using housebuilding examples for house-builders, using probate examples for probate services, using hospitality examples for hospitality etc.
For each apprenticeship, we begin with a learning needs analysis and design (same as our bespoke programmes) which we do not take a penny for…it’s about ensuring we’re aligning the apprenticeship to your organisation and giving the best value possible.
No additional costs or fees AND we include Psychometric Assessments
One of the most surprising things we see other providers doing is charging for additional items such as psychometric assessments. It’s a bit like saying ‘Everything will be covered by your levy fund apart from this, this and that…”
In partnership with TTI Success Insights, we are able to include psychometric assessments as part of our apprenticeships that do not come at an additional cost.
Nowwe do have a cancellation fee in place for non-attendance once the programme begins. The reason for this is that when we press go, ourselves and Kendal are committed for the next 15 months to deliver your apprenticeship. However, as the levy funding is drawn down monthly and based on attendance…we only get paid when your people attend the workshops. One of the common views in today’s workplace towards training is that they can ‘give it a miss’ and ‘catch up’. We strive to move away from this and have individuals on the programme that are truly committed to seeing it through to end.
We are designing a management development programme tailored to your learning needs…with at least 95% of it being funded by the apprenticeship levy…including design, psychometric assessments and interactive activities…with dates communicated well in advance…and all your people need to do…is show up.
Blended learning Available
Almost all of the apprenticeship programmes we have seen are delivered entirely online. Whilst virtual learning does have it’s advantages, we believe that the real value is still found in the classroom with a day of dedicated training that allows singular focus on one’s own development without the distractions of the day-to-day.
It also allows for more ‘hands on’ learning with interactive activities, an opportunity for colleagues from different parts of the U.K to meet and network and it feels like more of an investment in the individual’s learning experience. Let’s be honest, it doesn’t take a great deal of effort to send an MS Teams invite and tell someone they NEED to be there.
Hopefully you now have a better understanding of what the Apprenticeship Levy is and feel confident to take those first steps to start utilising the fund to upskill your people.
For more information on our Management Apprenticeships we offer, click here - https://www.penguinlearning.co.uk/apprenticeship-levy
For more information on Penguin, please follow us on LinkedIn
