Specsavers makes ‘Good’ on apprenticeships

Specsavers has become the first optical retailer to receive a ‘Good’ rating first time round by Ofsted for its apprenticeship programme, which has now trained up 1,000 apprentices.

Lasting for a week, the inspection involved seven Ofsted inspectors assessing Specsavers’ support offices, sitting in on training and assessment exercises, reviewing data and evidence and conducting interviews with various stakeholders.

Mark Corden, head of apprenticeships at Specsavers, said: ‘To put this into context, last year more than half (55%) of employers who deliver apprenticeships to their own colleagues either “Required improvement” or were “Inadequate”.

‘We've achieved this through investment in our team to ensure we deliver a strong programme that stands up to external scrutiny and delivers the skills we need in our stores.’