There are three main organisations involved who will help deliver your apprenticeship successfully. These are your employer, the training provider (SWAG合集) and the End Point Assessment Organisation (EPAO). Within each organisation, there will be different roles that are undertaken to help ensure your apprenticeship is run smoothly and successfully.
Primarily, your training provider will teach the knowledge and skills as part of the educational learning aspect of the apprenticeship, as well as providing feedback, guidance and support to you. Your training provider will also provide you with the necessary facilities and systems for you to record your progress throughout your apprenticeship.
As an apprenticeship combines educational learning with workplace training and learning, your employer has an important role to play in the apprenticeship. Your employers should have a good understanding of how apprenticeships work as well as what you want to achieve in order that they can provide you with adequate support to throughout your journey.
EPAOs are concerned with your assessment of at the end of your apprenticeship. They undertake the End Point Assessment (EPA) once all other criteria have been passed and evidenced.
Your employer
You will need to inform Cranfield of the stakeholders within your organisation and update us if there are any changes during your apprenticeship. This is so that Cranfield can give access to the right person to be able to complete progress reviews with you, as they will need to monitor your progress in PebblePad. We also need details of the right person to speak with regarding the facilitation of your apprenticeship.
Key point of contact
The key point of contact will be the point of contact for Cranfield regarding the facilitation of your apprenticeship. They may have a role such as Apprenticeship Manager, Apprenticeship Coordinator, Talent Manager, HR Manager etc.
They will undertake tasks such as:
- Signing the contract and Training Plan (previously known as Commitment Statement);
- Receiving communications relating to the facilitation and administration of the apprenticeship (and forward to the relevant person inside company if necessary);
- Receiving financial invoices (and forward to the relevant person inside company if necessary).
It is a statutory requirement that a training plan is signed by the training provider, your employer and you, the apprentice, as part of your apprenticeship. The employer key point of contact will receive, if they have not already, the training plan from the Cranfield Legal Team. If you have not signed this document, please speak to the person in your organisation who is acting as the key point of contact to obtain this document for signature.
Your line manager/mentor
Your line manager/mentor will carry out regular reviews with you to ensure you are on track with your apprenticeship. They will likely be your line manager, team lead, team manager and/or sponsor. Cranfield will set the reviewer up with access to PebblePad so they can monitor your progress.
They will undertake tasks such as:
- Attending regular (once every 8-12 weeks approx.) tripartite reviews with you to ensure you are achieving the KSBs as set out in the apprenticeship standard;
- Setting objectives that help you to achieve the standard;
- Reviewing, recording and supporting your progress (via PebblePad);
- Identifying and providing any additional exposure to areas in the workplace to meet the apprenticeship standard.
Reviews
Regular meetings must be carried out throughout your apprenticeship to ensure that you are making progress and achieving what you are meant to be achieving. There are two types of review: one is an internal meeting within your organisation between you and your reviewer and the other is a tripartite review which also includes the training provider.
Reviewer/apprentice meetings
The meetings with your reviewer should be held regularly, at least once every 6-8 weeks, and are held so that you and the reviewer can discuss your progress and how you are applying what you have learned in the workplace. To do this, your reviewer can review what you have uploaded into PebblePad as evidence. There is a facility in PebblePad for them to leave comments.
The meetings can also be used as a time for to identify any opportunities or exposure that you may require to be able to apply the academic learning and KSBs to the workplace. Your reviewer can set objectives for you to help you achieve any KSBs required.
Reviewer/apprentice reviews:
- Take place once every 6-8 weeks;
- Track progress;
- Review evidence in PebblePad and comment on progress;
- Set objectives to help the apprentice achieve the KSBs;
- Identify opportunities/exposure required in the workplace.
Tripartite reviews
At tripartite reviews, the training provider will review and report back on your academic results and your progress made on the evidence you have uploaded to your PebblePad portfolio, as well as off-the-job hours. The tripartite reviews are held every 8-12 weeks, up to Gateway. The Apprenticeships Office at Cranfield will send information relating to the tripartite reviews to you and your line manager/mentor.
Tripartite reviews will be captured in PebblePad as compliance for the Education and Skills Funding Agency.
Tripartite reviews:
- Take place every 8-12 weeks;
- Review academic results;
- Review evidence per competency quantitatively;
- Communicate any direction or feedback from Cranfield.
