Apprenticeship Week 6 - 10 February 2102

Skills for Care organised a number of activities to celebrate Apprenticeship Week to encourage social care employers to think about employing apprentices as well as encouraging people to think about undertaking an Apprenticeship in social care.

For a round up of activities that took place see the article below:
Apprenticeship Week 2012 activities round up

New resources available:  

• A dedicated Apprenticeship bulletin 2012 featuring information on the benefits of Apprenticeship and case studies highlighting how organisations have successfully implemented Apprenticeship programmes
• Skills for Care has produced a series of video case studies highlighting the benefits of Apprenticeships in social care.

New Boundaries
New Boundaries provide support for individuals with learning disabilities. They linked with Norfolk and Suffolk Care Support to offer placements for apprentices on a rotational Apprenticeship scheme.

Cheshire Centre for Independent Living
This case study features a direct employer and personal assistant supported by Cheshire Centre for Independent Living who share their experience of the Apprenticeship programme - Personal assistants in adult social care

Field House
This case study focuses on Field House care home in Shropshire using work placements with a local school as a way to encourage young people to undertake an Apprenticeship with the care home.

• Apprenticeships at Field House the managers, residents and relatives experience
• Apprenticeships at Field House the apprentices experience
  

Apprenticeships at The Pines
The case study below features apprentices at The Pines day centre in East Sussex that offers support to adults with learning difficulties. The video features three young apprentices as well as the manager of the centre who explains why the centre chose Apprenticeships as a way to develop the skills of new starters.

Message from our CEO
The videos below feature Skills for Care's CEO Sharon Allen explaining why apprentices can be a great asset to a business

• Apprenticeships - the business case
• Apprenticeships work for people
• Who can be an apprentice?
• Adult social care Apprenticeship - employer champions
• Apprenticeships - the future

Changes to Apprenticeship Certification - January 2012

From 19 January 2012, a new certification service will be run by the Certifying Authority for England and will be known as Apprenticeship Certificates England (ACE). The Alliance of Sector Skills Councils is the Certifying Authority for England.

Skills for Care, on behalf of Skills for Care and Development, will be moving over to ACE during the week commencing 6 February 2012 and will be issuing certificates via the new system from 10 February 2012 for the Social Care pathway at intermediate and advance level. Please click here for more information on the framework certificate.

Changes to Apprenticeship certification in England - February 2012 briefing

Access to Apprenticeships

Skills for Care is keen to set up a virtual forum to discuss the Access to Apprenticeship pathway.

The Access to Apprenticeship pathway was introduced as a means to widen Apprenticeship access for young people who were classed as NEET and/or had additional needs. For more information visit: http://www.apprenticeships.org.uk/Partners/Policy/AccesstoApprenticeships.aspx.

Skills for Care would like to invite those who have been involved in the delivery of Access to Apprenticeships or are interested in becoming involved to be part of a virtual forum to discuss aspects of this pathway.

To register your interest please contact lori.field@skillsforcare.org.uk

New measures to boost Apprenticeships - November 2011

Business Secretary Vince Cable has announced new measures to ensure more young people benefit from an Apprenticeship, and help employers gain the skilled workers they need to grow.

• To encourage small businesses that don't currently hire apprentices to take on a young apprentice aged 16 to 24, the Government will offer employers with up to 50 employees an incentive payment of up to £1,500. This will support up to 20,000 new apprenticeships in 2012/13.
• Processes will be simplified to make it quicker and easier for employers to take on an apprentice. The National Apprenticeships Service and training providers will be required to ensure that every employer is in a position to advertise a vacancy within one month of deciding to take on an apprentice.
• Apprenticeship providers will be required to offer training in English and Maths up to the standard of a good GCSE (level 2) for all Apprenticeships.