Lincolnshire and Rutland Public Service Compact – Conference

March 2011“Apprenticeship Developments – NAS and the

Compact working together”

A presentation by Victoria Reynolds

Employer Services Manager from the National Apprenticeship Service

The Context

Throughout the East Midlands, NAS and the county based PS Compacts have worked together to identify areas of potential increases in Apprenticeship recruitment in the public sector.

This has been the case in Lincolnshire and Rutland. Additionally in our two counties, NAS and the Compact have worked together to:

(i) Establish an Apprenticeship Training Agency(ii) Develop a tailored Apprenticeship Programme for Apprentices providing business administration support within public service

Establishing an Apprenticeship Training Agency

In the Spring of 2010 the Compact and NAS worked in partnership to deliver an “Embedding Apprenticeships” Event

At this event the delegates received a keynote presentation detailing the success of the Apprenticeship Training Agency (ATA) that had been set up in Leicestershire

Eyes lit up ! From that moment onwards, with support from the Compact, NAS and Mouchel worked to set up an ATA in Lincolnshire and Rutland

Establishing an ATA (2)

Using the Leicestershire model as a template Mouchel launched the Lincolnshire ATA in September

Our ATA provides recruitment and support services for a significant number of Apprenticeships working in Lincolnshire

Mouchel act as the employer and thus minimise the risk for public service organisations wishing to take on Apprentices

Establishing an ATA (3)

The first cohort of ATA Apprentices are working at Lincolnshire County Council

A small number of ATA Apprentices are now working in The City of Lincoln Council, North Kesteven District Council and the Fire and Rescue Service

The Police and some schools are showing interest in accommodating ATA Apprentices

The ATA model allows for the possibility of an Apprentice completing the programme whilst enjoying ‘placements’ at a number of public sector organisations

Developing a tailored Apprenticeship Programme

In the Spring of 2010 the Compact and NAS worked in partnership to develop a tailored ‘Business Admin’ Apprenticeship programme for the public sector

The standard Business Admin framework is enhanced by the Apprenticeships accessing a Compact-devised unit that addresses specific issues around providing effective admin support in a public service environment

The unit of study was written by a Compact working group and was then subject to QCA scrutiny and finally became a document that was the focus of a national consultation exercise

Business Admin App [Public Service] (2)

In the summer of 2010 the tailored programme was awarded national recognition and the framework was endorsed by exam boards and is now available nationally

The ATA Apprentices are all following this programme

A recognition that providing admin support in public service is ‘different’ was long overdue. For the Compact to have addressed this need and to have received national recognition for it is a real feather in our cap !

Questions ? ? ? ?