The rise of remote apprenticeships – what it means for learners and businesses
As life returns to something approaching normality in the UK, it may be easy to assume that apprenticeships will revert to face-to-face delivery. However, it appears that remote apprenticeships, adopted by many businesses throughout the Covid-19 pandemic, are here to stay.
The Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education recently announced that remote delivery of apprenticeship assessments will become a permanent option for providers beyond Covid-19.
Here at Ixion we work with a range of businesses delivering apprenticeships, including many remote and flexible opportunities. Below we look at the impact on both learners and businesses, and explore some points to consider if you are embarking upon, or delivering, a remote apprenticeship.
Remote apprenticeships offer businesses the chance to upskill teams by attracting a wider pool of candidates and creating a more diverse workforce.
Location is less important
With more and more businesses offering apprenticeships that can be completed from home, geographical location is becoming less important. For learners, this means access to a much wider range of opportunities, without the need to be bound by location or access to transport. This unlocks apprenticeships across the country in a variety of industries. Learners in rural locations, for example, can apply for roles that may previously have only been accessible to those in or around large cities.
For businesses, remote apprenticeships offer the chance to upskill teams by attracting a wider pool of candidates and creating a more diverse workforce. Apprentices can bring a positive attitude and fresh approach to a business, and this is no less true with remote apprentices. By undertaking an apprenticeship, individuals are proving themselves to be willing to work and learn. This, combined with the fact that employers can access high quality candidates from a range of backgrounds, can have a positive impact on businesses as they look to upskill their teams.
To read from an apprentice who joined the Ixion team remotely see Jess’s monthly apprenticeship journey blog.
A different way of learning
Apprenticeships provide the opportunity to work and learn at the same time. Learning is via both on-the-job and off-the-job training, and traditionally this has been delivered face-to-face.
Learning remotely undoubtedly poses some challenges, and it is important for learners to be patient and accept that some things may take a little longer to pick up. Remember to take the opportunity to ask lots of questions to your team and tutor, and take advantage of your scheduled catch ups to go through anything you’re not sure about. It can be tricky to stay focused at home, so take the time to assess what methods of learning work for you and stick to your routine.
For employers, it is crucial to provide a thorough remote induction process, and to ensure regular opportunities for questions and work-based learning. Apprentices may not have prior experience of working from home, so it can be a good idea to go through expectations and offer a guide to effectively working remotely. Assigning a mentor to apprentices is also a great way of guiding apprentices and offering support to help them progress in their roles.
Looking after wellbeing
The conversation around mental health and wellbeing has become ever more prominent since the start of the pandemic. It is accepted that by helping to look after employees’ health and wellbeing, businesses are more likely to inspire an engaged and motivated workforce. It is no different when it comes to apprenticeships. Providing regular wellbeing catch ups to check in with apprentices can help to ensure any issues can be identified. Signposting ways for apprentices to access support such as counselling is equally important.
Setting aside a regular meeting dedicated to non-work-related chat can also be a great help for remote apprentices. It can replicate the normal day-to-day chat that occurs in an office or workplace and help apprentices to get to know their colleagues and feel part of the team.
For learners, it is important to be open with you line manager and teaching assessor. If you are finding things tough it can be easy to feel isolated while working from home. However, by asking questions if you are struggling to understand something and being honest with how you are feeling, you will quickly find that there is plenty of support available to you.
Communication is key
Communication is of course crucial in any business, and it becomes even more so when working with remote apprentices. Initially, daily video catch-ups between apprentice and line manager would be a good idea to ensure they are keeping on track and understanding everything. This will probably move naturally to perhaps a weekly call with regular messaging on Microsoft Teams or similar. Similarly, having a continuous team chat can also help. With apprenticeships traditionally taking place in person, apprentices have had a workplace full of people to ask questions to. With the move to remote, having an ongoing team chat can help to make it easy for apprentices to ask those smaller questions that crop up.
For apprentices, make sure that you utilise these methods of communication to ask questions and talk to your colleagues. No questions should be seen as too small, and by asking lots of questions to help get up to speed it will show your new colleagues that you are enthusiastic and keen to learn. It may feel unnatural at first if you do not have any previous experience of remote working, but by throwing yourself in you should find you will quickly adjust to home working.
To find out how we can help you/your team upskill with remote apprenticeships please contact us on info@ixionholdings.com