Thursday, November 10, 2016

#codesign16 Apprenticeship Reform in England and Digital Support for Apprenticeships


Some folks will know I  have been doing work with a range of clients in England around the impact of apprenticeship reforms and the readiness of the vocational system to accommodate what is a seismic change across England.

There will be a lot of useful learning happening through these changes, not least I think the emergence of some  new forms of e-portfolio systems to cope with the tracking and preparation of learners for the much more summative End Point Assessment that all Apprentices in England will now face.

If you are not sure what all these changes are or how they could impact on Scotland. I have some work in progress on the Potential Impact of UK Vocational Reform on Scotland.

In the meantime the  good folks at Jisc are running a sector wide consultation, #Codesign16 around  six topics,  to spark a sector wide  discussion,   over the next few weeks, this  to identify the most promising areas to explore to support the sector with a fiocus on -

What would truly digital apprenticeships look like?

While we don't currently have these massive reforms in Scotland, we do need to look at making the apprenticeship experience much more digital.

 In England,  Apprenticeships is a growth area undergoing massive reform, with a government target of three million starts by 2020 this along with  the implementation of the post-16 skills plan will see what is on offer across workbased learning, in schools , colleges and Universities change radically. The employer levy funding beginning in April 2017 will create an estimated pot of  £2.5 bn, a billion pounds more than they currently spend on training and development in England. More effective deployment  of technology will be crucial to achieving government targets whilst maintaining a high quality of delivery.

In Scotland our target is to grow Modern Apprenticeships from 25,000 to 30,000 by 2020 , growing the number of Foundation Apprenticeships , Graduate and Advanced Apprenticships while focussing on overcoming the equality and diversity issues associated with apprenticeships.

To cope with the new system in England Jisc thinks it is the right to build on these reforms, embrace change and embed technology throughout Apprenticeship design, delivery and assessment.
To meet the needs of employers and apprentices in the 21st century.

I think there should be a few Scottish voices in this debate too - our training providers, colleges, universities and schools have much to learn from this discussion.

We need to think about what a digitally supported apprenticeship would look like in Scotland. 

Here is an opportunity to share your hopes and your fears, to tell Jisc what you think might happen, but also what you think should and could happen.

In addition, please can you consider the following questions: These questions are as relevant to the Scottish system as they are to the system being reformed in England. 

·         So what are the issues and problems in embedding technology in delivery and assessment of apprenticeships?
·         How is technology been used to support apprentices as they move through their apprenticeship programme?
·         What are the issues if we are to deliver an apprenticeship programme using a blended or even totally digital approach?
·         What are the problems or issues with using digital assessment methods? What are the potential solutions?

How to get involved
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