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Apprenticeship employer groups unite to create more opportunities

17th June 2016

UK Government

Jordan Mulcare

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Employers are working together to help ensure the UK has the range and quality of apprenticeships businesses need right across the digital economy. Over the last two years employers have been collaborating to develop a new suite of digital and tech apprenticeships, under the Government’s Trailblazer initiative. Apprenticeships and degree apprenticeships are now available for occupations such as digital marketing, software development, data analytics and many more. To promote greater coherence and smoother progression for young people, employers are now coming together to create a new Digital Apprenticeship Standards Steering Group.

Open to all employers with an active interest in apprenticeship standards in England, this group will:

- Maintain a coherent ‘occupational map’ of digital / tech apprenticeships that are available, in development, or planned. This will make it easier for prospective apprentices, employers and training providers to understand the digital apprenticeship landscape, and will help to avoid duplication and confusion in a fast changing environment.

- Support ‘task and finish’ specialist working groups developing new digital apprenticeship standards, including handling formal submissions (to the government / Institute of Apprenticeships) of Expressions of Interest, apprenticeship standards and assessment plans. This will streamline the process and help to increase speed to market of new apprenticeship standards.

- Make it as easy as possible for employers and stakeholders to input to standards development, in particular employers of all sizes across the digital economy, education and training providers, professional bodies and assessment organisations. This will make the standards as widely applicable and as robust as possible.

The Digital Apprenticeship Standards Steering Group will be chaired by Jenny Taylor, UK Graduate, Apprenticeship and Student Programme Manager at IBM. “Apprenticeships have enormous potential to help develop the skills we need in digital roles across the UK economy,” she says, “but they must be based on high quality standards that reflect employer needs. Employers from every sector will be working together through this group, to ensure that digital apprenticeship standards promote a worthwhile experience for both employer and apprentice.”

“We are committed to apprenticeships and are already seeing the benefits within our business,” adds group member Rob Harding, Senior Manager Resourcing Operations, Lloyds Banking Group. “Through the Digital Apprenticeship Standards Steering Group, we will be able to collaborate with other employers to maintain the high quality and business relevance of the standards that underpin our successful programme.”