SEETEC RETAIN “GOOD” RATING FOLLOWING OFSTED INSPECTI

Seetec underwent a short inspection of its apprenticeship and traineeship provision at the end of July 2017. As a result Seetec were awarded a continued ‘Good’ rating.

This latest Ofsted report states that Seetec were judged to have retained a good focus on the quality of its apprenticeship and traineeship skills provision and were congratulated for its substantial growth in the number of its apprenticeships and traineeships, while also improving the quality of provision.

It was found that this success has been achieved by working closely with businesses and ensuring that senior team members are listening and monitoring apprentices so that they are successfully able to identify any issues and quickly rectify them. The business’ focus on intermediate and advanced apprenticeships in subject areas such as business administration, customer service and team leading  was recognised.  The report also noted the popularity of an initiative to introduce higher-level apprenticeships, particularly in leadership and management and business administration aligned to the new apprenticeship standards.

It was highlighted that the business as a whole is focused on the safe guarding of apprentices enabling them to flourish and achieve the qualifications they need to secure long-term employment.

The organisation’s systems and staff were considered to have the safe guarding of their apprentices at their heart.  The report noted that “A dedicated safeguarding lead oversees the process, and senior leaders discuss all safeguarding referrals as a matter of course on a regular basis. Consequently, senior leaders and managers have a good awareness of any issues arising and act swiftly to resolve them.”

In summary it was found that Seetec’s managers work closely and effectively with employers to ensure that their apprenticeships meet employers’ business needs and that the introduction of standards based higher-level apprenticeships have been developed well in conjunction with employer groups and other stakeholders.

Seetec’s assessors and tutors effectively challenge the most able apprentices to achieve additional units and gain expertise that helps them to develop their skills and knowledge further. For example, an apprentice working for a large charitable organisation has gained the skills to undertake a financial audit of stock items competently – a role normally carried out by their supervisor. Plus a higher-level apprentice has undertaken to learn Spanish in order to be able to better communicate with Spanish-speaking colleagues in the business.

Melanie Nicholson, Director of Excellence & Apprenticeship Operations at Seetec, said; “The delivery of our apprenticeships is of utmost importance to the business and I am delighted with the outcome of this report. It recognises the hard work of our leadership team, assessors/tutors, apprentices and employers and our commitment to ensuring that our apprentices get their qualifications and, most importantly, achieve sustainable employment with potential for growth.We hope that this result encourages more businesses and apprenticeships to work with us, this report clearly demonstrates that we are helping both businesses and apprentices achieve a brighter future.”

Ofsted summarised; “Many apprentices work in highly pressurised office environments as team leaders, or deal with customers in their everyday job roles and bring value to employers’ businesses. For example, one apprentice commented that they had gained confidence in dealing with difficult performance management situations and motivating staff. Apprentices on management programmes develop good networking and negotiation skills working with large national employers, for example on a furniture recycling project.”

This latest Ofsted report follows a ‘Good’ grading for Outsource Vocational Learning in March 2017, which became part of Essex-based Seetec Group last year. Outsource delivers training and qualifications to learners employed in some of the UK’s largest and most successful organisations including British Airways, Sky, GLA, Government Communication Services (GCS), Metropolitan Police Service and Mediacom.

The full report can be found here.