I have sat at the fringes of apprenticeships throughout my career in optics, sitting currently on the Optical Sector Steering Group (a subsidiary committee of the Optical Confederation Joint Education Committee) and being involved with similar organisations on and off since the mid 1990s.
Like the waxing and waning of the popularity of the Ray-Ban Wayfarer, most things in life seem to happen in cycles, and so it has proved with apprenticeships. When I turned 16 in the early 1980s apprenticeships were still all the rage, and where I live north of Liverpool there was a wide variety of apprenticeships for skilled jobs, mainly in the engineering sector and competition was fierce for places at companies like British Aerospace, Pilkington Glass and a variety of local manufacturing and engineering businesses.
For girls back then, it seemed, there was hairdressing, and a key concern of this conference was the poor uptake of apprenticeships by young women. It appears girls are just as likely to apply for an apprenticeship as boys, however, they are likely to give up after one or two rejections and go into higher education, whereas boys persist, and it was reported that in fact it takes on average six applications to be successful in securing a place.
Personally, a lack of chemistry O-level proved a barrier to the apprenticeships I was interested in, so it was off to sixth form, A levels, and ultimately ophthalmic dispensing for me. I was jealous of my friends on apprenticeships – they earned money while they learned their trade, had their own cars as soon as they could drive, and qualified into well paying jobs.
By the time I qualified as a dispensing optician the post-16 education scene was changing. Recession had devastated much of manufacturing industry, and companies did not need new apprentices while they were in the process of making experienced people redundant.
As technical colleges and polytechnics became universities policy seemed to be directed towards higher education and in the years since, government has found it difficult to encourage employers outside of engineering and construction to offer apprenticeships. However, the latest initiative is I believe destined for success.
Since April this year large employers, with payrolls of over £3m have been subject to a new tax, the apprenticeship levy, at a rate of 0.5% of payroll costs. This will likely affect around a dozen or so optical chains and manufacturers and is quite a burden since payroll is such a large percentage of revenue compared to most other sectors. However, it is also quite an opportunity since levy paying employers can claim back their levy (and more) to pay for apprenticeships and the training they provide.
For large organisations the system is as follows:
- Pay levy each month via PAYE
- Get Apprentice Service Account (ASA)
- Choose Frameworks / Standards, eg Optical support
- Register as a training provider or choose a registered training provider
- Choose a registered assessment organisation
Large organisations draw down funding from their own Apprenticeship Service Account regardless of the age of the apprentice, however if the apprentice is 16 to 18 there is an employer and apprentice incentive paid by the government of £1,000 each.
For smaller companies, who do not pay the levy, the system is different:
- Choose Frameworks / Standards, eg Optical support
- Register as a training provider or choose a registered training provider
- Choose a registered assessment organisation
Then:
- Select apprentice(s)
- Apprenticeship programme (minimum 12 months)
- Employee pays pre-agreed proportion of costs to training provider
The costs that small employers pay vary. For companies with one to 50 staff the government will cover 100% of the cost of the apprenticeship training and assessment for apprentices between 16 and 18. For non-levy paying companies with more than 50 staff the employer contribution is 10%. However, the £1,000 incentives are still available for all 16 to 18-year-olds.
For older apprentices, 19 to 24 and 25+, non-levy payers are expected to contribute just 10% to the cost of training and assessment. With apprenticeships costing from £4,000 for some level 2 apprenticeships up to £27,000 for the highest level 6 and 7 degree level apprenticeships it can be seen that the cost to employers is very reasonable, and the benefits to employees in terms of transferrable skills substantial.
Currently, out of more than 2,200 registered apprenticeship training providers on the gov.uk list only three are dedicated to optics and they are the big three employers who only train their own optical assistants and technicians. However, it is anticipated the traditional suppliers of optical assistants’ education such as Anglia Ruskin University, Bradford College and ABDO College are gearing themselves up to take part.
A search of the register of end point assessors reveals a systematic problem that was discussed at some length by presenters and delegates at the forum. The government launched a system, and many sectors launched apprenticeships without end point assessors in place. We are currently in a transition period where apprenticeships are moved from frameworks to standards by 2020, and currently there is a need for end point assessment organisations in optics if this transition is to be successfully completed.
The old SASE Frameworks (Specifications for Apprenticeship Standards in England) will be replaced by new Apprenticeship Standards that are being developed by employer led ‘Trailblazer’ groups.
The key differences can be seen in table 1. Most notably there is no requirement in the new apprenticeships to include any formal qualification, although employer trailblazer groups can choose to build existing or new qualifications into Standards, either recommended in the assessment plan, or mandatory in the Standard. Where apprenticeship standards do not include a qualification then training providers can still choose to build them in.
Table 1: The changing face of apprenticeships
The new apprenticeships place less emphasis on personal learning, thinking skills and employment rights and responsibilities, and more focus on formative assessment of apprentice behaviour. That is employers and trainers taking responsibility for influencing and shaping employee skills with less emphasis on self-guided learning as may have previously been the case.
The gateway refers to a formal process of employers and training providers agreeing and signing off the apprentice as being ready for their final end point assessment which must now be conducted by an organisation separate to the employer or training provider.
Despite having a variety of qualifications, optics does not currently have an approved end point assessment organisation for the new standards, although ABDO hopes to take up this role soon with the support of the Worshipful Company of Spectacle Makers (WCSM), and no doubt other awarding bodies and providers are also working towards this.
WCSM, BIIAB and Pearson Edexcel are the Awarding Bodies for a number of qualifications at levels 2, 3 and 4 that can form part of apprenticeships. The existing framework apprenticeship at level 2 is based on the level 2 Diploma in Optical Retail Skills (DORS) and will migrate to a standard in due course. Hopefully the current qualifications in optical support at levels 3 and 4 will also become available as apprenticeships with government funding.
Currently the only approved optical Apprenticeship Standard is for spectacle maker, which, as I understand it, incorporates a level 3 qualification and is aimed particularly at lab technicians in the in store or factory environment. Apprentices successfully completing this can then move on to the level 4 SMC Tech if they wish, although it is not within the apprenticeship, but may end up as a separate one.
A quick search of apprenticeships on www.gov.uk reveals hundreds of standards either in development or ready for delivery, and what is surprising is how many are now at degree level or higher.
Degree level apprenticeships represent a real opportunity for optics and optometry since it makes sense for courses that have close to 100% employability statistics to be delivered in conjunction with employers. In fact a majority of dispensing opticians have qualified via a blended learning route, with the financial support of employers throughout their training. What if trainee dispensing opticians could do more than just earn while they learn? What if the employer could draw down funding to cover 90% to 100% of the course and assessment costs too? It would surely make it easier for independent practices to train dispensing opticians, especially in rural and deprived inner city areas where currently it is difficult to recruit and the need is greatest for skilled employees.
With the GOC review of education well under way, it is anticipated that new ways of delivering education will be considered in some depth. Could an earn-while-you-learn degree level apprenticeship in optometry be on the cards? It certainly makes sense given the challenge of recruitment to train people where you need them with a greater hope of them staying around once they are qualified. And given the choice of £50,000 of debt or an employer funded apprenticeship, optometry could become very attractive indeed.
If degree level apprenticeships are to become reality in our sector, however, they must have the support of, and be led by employers, and have the support of educators and awarding bodies, and despite the possibility of saving employers and students millions of pounds each year it is not clear this support exists. Having courses with such good job prospects offered via the apprenticeship route would also be very good for the apprenticeship brand.
In the meantime a more pressing priority is to ensure the Apprenticeship Standards for optical support staff are available to the whole sector including non-levy paying employers in the independent sector, and to register one or more assessment organisations so that all apprentices can be assessed.