National Apprenticeship Week: don’t forget the assessors

National Apprenticeship Week 2011 is finally here and with the Government’s recent investment into apprenticeships, it is set to be the most exciting yet. As we are all aware £605 million has been placed into apprenticeship schemes across the country; therefore this week will see not only an increase in excitement and anticipation, but a whole lot of planning how to spend and invest in our youth of today.

When most people think about apprenticeships, it is commonly about either doing one or providing one. Quite rightly, the majority of events supporting National Apprenticeship Week are focussed around encouraging take-up amongst both potential apprentices and employers. At Alderwood Education, we are true advocates of championing both excellent Apprentices and inspiring employers, but I wanted to take this opportunity to flag up a key, integral part to the running of these apprenticeship schemes which can sometimes be forgotten; the unsung heroes that come in the form of Apprenticeship assessors.

Assessors are integral in making the Government’s apprenticeship targets a reality, whilst critically ensuring positive outcomes for both the learner and employer. They play a crucial role in maintaining the standards of learning, teaching and up-skilling, as well as ensuring every scheme delivers training that is relevant and valuable to both learner and employer. I hope you will all agree with me when I say we need to see an increased investment and recognition for the assessors who are driving the Government’s investment forward.

What we need to ensure is that this investment doesn’t go unnoticed and fall by the wayside, but is actually the spearhead in turning the country around, getting unemployment figures reduced, finding jobs for our youth and getting our society back on track.

However, in order to maintain and improve the standards of Apprentice schemes, it is vital that more talent is encouraged into the assessing industry. The substantial increase in Apprenticeship starts compared with 2010 is excellent news, but delivery could prove problematic if there aren’t sufficient talented assessors available. Sector competence is not sufficient on its own. We need assessors who can not only teach, assess and regulate but truly inspire and motivate; often a rare combination.

Of course, there is much variation between industry sectors. As recruitment specialists within the Work Based Learning industry, we often experience a wealth of applications from excellent assessors within some sectors, such as Hospitality and Care, however, there is an extreme shortage in others. Ironically these shortages are most evident in the sectors where there are current or future skills gaps within the UK economy, such as Engineering & Technology. Therefore how can we expect to channel the youth of today into these areas if we do not have enough talented assessors to guide train, motivate and up-skill them? It is clear to me we need to raise their profile in order to make assessing a career of choice rather than a mishap; the future of our youth depends on it.

In addition to encouraging talented individuals to consider becoming assessors, the industry needs to ensure it is accessible as a career path in order to ease the route in, particularly in the skills shortage areas.

As education recruitment professionals we are seeing a growing trend towards Training Providers considering applications from already qualified and experienced assessors only. Whilst it is easy to understand the rationale behind this trend, I question whether highly competent would-be assessors are deterred from taking up this option due to a lack of opportunities at entry level.

The problem is not just one of encouraging new talent into the industry, but one of retaining the excellent assessors already in the field. We need to ensure every step is taken to provide them with ongoing training and support, particularly in light of the transition from Train to Gain, to Apprenticeship schemes. Offering career progression opportunities and a clear ‘path’ for those who desire it is also vitally important.

In light of this, our focus for National Apprenticeship Week is to champion the role of the assessor and encourage increasing numbers to join the industry. After all, without excellent assessors, we wouldn’t have excellent Apprentices.

I hope you will all agree with me that we need to see an increased investment and recognition for the good work assessors are doing. We need to encourage more talent into the assessing industry so that the Government’s investment will provide the sought after legacy.

Anton Roe is operations director of Alderwood Education, the training and education recruitment agency

Do you know the Ultimate Apprenticeship Assessor? As part of National Apprenticeship Week, Alderwood Education is looking to find and reward a truly inspirational Apprenticeship assessor. This could be someone who has gone above and beyond the call of duty, or is simply excellent at what they do. We would like you to nominate anyone who you think is worthy of this title. All you need to do is send their/ your name, organisation and a short paragraph detailing why they/ you should win to [email protected]. The winner will receive a £250 voucher for a high street store of their choice.