For National Apprenticeship Week 2022, we explore how VTCT has supported apprenticeships through the Coronavirus Covid-19 pandemic to ensure that we all continue to build a bright future.
Covid-19 has changed how we have lived dramatically over the past two years. The pandemic has touched not only our lifestyles but also the way that apprenticeships are delivered and assessed.
We know that there is nothing more rewarding to a training provider and employer than watching their apprentice excel, finish their qualification and become a valued member of the workforce. Although it thankfully looks like we are getting closer to normality, we know that these are still uncertain times for many of you.
That’s why we couldn’t celebrate National Apprenticeship Week without looking back at the ways that VTCT supported, and will continue to support, your apprenticeships through such unprecedented times.
Accelerated End-point Assessment completion
As you will know, the End-point Assessment Organisation (EPAO) plays a crucial role in the apprenticeship journey.
As an EPAO within the Hair and Beauty sectors, we know how important this final step to achieving an apprentice’s qualification is. The disruption caused by the pausing of close-contact services meant that apprentices scheduled to complete were left in uncertainty and worry.
Because our greatest aim is to provide learners with a direct line of sight into the career of their dreams, we knew that it was our responsibility to ensure that these passionate and hard-working future professionals could continue to progress as swiftly as possible.
Through the hard work of our expert End-point Assessment team, we ensured that waiting apprentices could finish their qualifications as soon as restrictions lifted, assessing a volume of EPAs that can typically take one month in just three days.
Flexible EPA services
The disruption caused by the pandemic has illuminated the importance of maximum flexibility to ensure that your learners can progress and achieve the career of their dreams.
Our highly competent Apprenticeship Assessors were, and will continue to be, available seven days a week, including weekends, to provide rigorous, fair and consistent End-point Assessments for your apprentices.
VTCT also provides the convenience of a digital EPA booking service and an easily accessible, friendly EPA co-ordinator to guide you through the booking process.
The first sector-specific Covid-19 Infection Prevention Qualifications
One of the biggest concerns as we all grapple with the long-lasting effects of the pandemic is the safety of close contact. This is especially true for the apprentices within the Hair and Beauty industry as close contact, face to face services are the basis of their livelihood and attaining the qualifications they have worked so hard for.
As a leading Awarding Organisation and End-point Organisation, we knew we had the duty to prepare your apprentices for the new landscape of infection prevention relating especially to Covid-19. We brought you the very first sector-specific Covid-19 infection prevention qualifications to ensure that your qualified apprentices would be ready for employment from day one without the need for further on-the-job training relating to Covid-19 protocols.
Developed with leading public health and subject matter experts from around the globe, these concise single unit qualifications give your apprentices the knowledge to navigate the unique treatment-specific scenarios that professionals in the personal care industries are now expected to face.
Digital resources for the entire industry
The End-point Assessment is often the aspect of apprenticeships that first comes to mind. However, the on-programme learning is just as crucial to the success of an apprentice’s journey into the workplace.
With the abrupt closure of schools, colleges, and face-to-face training, supporting training providers with learner engagement and distance learning was key to maintaining successful learner outcomes.
We not only made sure that iTEC & VTCT learners and apprentices were able to keep progressing with their skills at home but also learners from the entire industry as a whole, by providing access to our tailored learning hub, Pivot Point LAB for free to VTCT and non-VTCT learners during lockdown.
iTEC & VTCT learners and apprentices can continue to benefit from this innovative learning platform as it grows and develops to include new enriching learning content.
