Strategic HR Apprenticeship levy review
How can HR get apprenticeships right?
Sebastian Tindall, head of L&D at Vitality, says the insurance organisation was already reaping the rewards of its
apprenticeship strategy before it had even spent a penny of the levy.
“Announcing it in advance generated performance within our business from people who were aspiring to study these
qualifi cations,” he told HR magazine. “It’s been absolutely brilliant for us and a great opportunity to celebrate the best in our people.”
Vitality apprentices have an external pass rate of 97%, with 60% achieving distinctions. Of those that have completed
apprenticeships, 20% have been promoted internally. And rather than replace existing investment Vitality’s apprenticeships have
formed part of an organisation-wide strategy that saw the fi rm triple its investment in formal training. So how has it done this?
1 Do an analysis. We analysed
the skills that we wanted to
develop back in 2017 before
the levy so we were in a good
position to mobilise that
investment pretty quickly,”
he recalls.
“We literally sat down with
every executive member of
Vitality and asked ‘which skills
they want to foster and what
would they really covet in
three years’ time?’”
Tindall also recommends
looking at areas of business
where there’s a requirement for
mandated qualifi cations, such
as accountancy. Are these
qualifi cations covered in the
apprenticeship standards?
much focused on quality not
quantity,” adds Moat.
At both Vitality and B&Q the
majority of apprenticeships have
been delivered at level three but
they’ve also each invested in higherlevel
apprenticeships too. “A lot
of people will assume that when
you invest in an MBA-style
apprenticeship you’ll be doing it
for an executive with 15 years of
experience and they don’t need it,”
comments Tindall. “But it’s a viable
alternative to university for a young
person. They’ll build experience,
get none of the student debt and
draw a salary.”
Vitality currently spends about
80% of its levy on level three
standards, with approximately 20%
portioned off for specialist and
higher-level training. It’s a balance
that works, says Tindall, and allows
2 Look to the
apprenticeship
market. “It’s very
entrepreneurial and
has developed
really innovative
approaches from
different providers,”
comments Tindall.
“A lot of them will
provide generic
management-level
programmes but there
are many others
that are focusing
on development
programmes for
rapidly-emerging
markets like
data science.”
access to niche skills such as
actuarial science, which is key in
that industry.
While these employers might have
made the strategy work for them,
there are many other non-levypayers
who have yet to feel the
benefit of the 2017 reforms, despite
now having access to the digital
apprenticeship service (DAS).
Impey says that while opening up
the DAS to SMEs is a really positive
move, it creates another crisis to
navigate because there’s not enough
funding. Furthermore, because of
concerns about affordability, the
government has limited each SME
to three apprenticeship starts.
“I would describe that as going
from having an unsatisfactory
situation for the last three years to
an unacceptable situation in the
future,” remarks Impey.
3 Choose the right partner. Vitality works with
SkillCert, and Tindall believes the relationship
has been instrumental in the success of its
apprenticeship strategy. He says that by
working with a smaller provider they were
able to cater the content so that apprentices
were still getting the same qualifi cation but
were able to apply the learning directly to
their role at Vitality.
“The fi rst place a lot of people seem to start
is with the higher-profi le providers and that’s
not always the best departure point,” Tindall
comments. “We’ve had access to top-quality
tutors this way, and if we’re spending this
money we’re going to want to get the very
best out of it for our people.
“I would be nervous about moving to a
bigger provider now, as I’m not sure they can
always guarantee the quality of tutoring in the
same way.”
It’s a stark contrast to the
apprenticeship landscape prior to
2017, when SMEs accounted for the
majority of apprenticeships. The
current situation could have wideranging
consequences both for the
organisations themselves and the
communities they’re based in.
“The impact on small businesses
is that they’re not able to grow.
They’re not able to respond to
changes in the marketplace brought
on by automation and digitisation,
and it risks stifling their
productivity,” says Impey.
And while large organisations tend
to cluster near big cities, SMEs are
based everywhere meaning their
impact is arguably greater.
“Small businesses are great
agents of social change because they
have this footprint that is truly
nationwide. They are embedded in
The impact
on small
businesses
is that they’re
not able
to grow
34 HR April 2020 hrmagazine.co.uk
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