Employers across England have been busy writing apprenticeship standards for five years, investing resource into the development process and finding new ways to work collaboratively with professional bodies, training providers and universities. The fruits of their efforts can be seen in the number of apprenticeship standards that have been approved by the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education. In September 2019, 489 standards had been approved and another 115 were in development. Be it clinical or non-clinical, the choice is extensive.
The rate of development will inevitably reduce as coverage nears completion, in fact the rate of development is now slowing and the number of new standards for development is falling. There are already more apprenticeship standards available than ever, from levels 2 to 7. So how do employers find out what is available and how can they make meaningful choices in selecting the best fit apprenticeship?
One way to make sense of this complex landscape is to consider using the Pathways Tool.
This free to access and simple to use tool gives users an overview of apprenticeship standards allowing them to quickly assess which apprenticeship standard best matches their workforce need. It enables employers to custom build career pathways, fitting the different apprenticeships together like pieces of a jigsaw to create your own picture. Whether it’s defining career options at an organisational level, planning at a departmental level or even working with an individual, the tool will support you to think about how you will use apprenticeships to meet your future workforce needs.
With so many standards to choose from you may discover new possibilities to upskill your workforce and maximise your levy spend at the same time as making a real impact in patient care.
Click here to access the Pathways tool.