By Simon Lewis, Head of Apprenticeships, NOCN Group
September 2024

It’s almost a year since I joined NOCN Group as Head of Apprenticeships and I’m proud to say that my key reason for joining the international skills charity – its social values and focus – are true to their word.

Those who know me will know how passionate I am about lifelong learning and the potential of vocational education, including apprenticeships, to make a real difference to people, organisations, the economy, and society at large. What makes working for a skills charity so special is the fact that this passion isn’t dampened by commercial shareholders. At NOCN Group, we are totally independent and can focus on the ‘skills solutions’ that matter most.

Supporting industry to create a ‘fit for the future’ workforce

We’re proud to be the sole Apprenticeship End Point Assessment Organisation for a variety of Standards, driven by our commitment to support industry, whether there are two learners or 20,000 each year. We understand that these smaller standards come with unique challenges, but as a dedicated charity, we are passionate about doing what’s right for both the industry and learners. Our goal is to find innovative solutions to overcome any barriers, no matter how tough they may be.

We champion the growth of trades that need new talent, such as the Low Carbon Heating Technician Apprenticeship, which is designed to create a workforce of people to fit, maintain and service the clever, innovative technology solutions that turn one unit of energy into four units of heat:

• Supporting the nations drive to net zero by 2050 - no brainer
  
  
• Creating the workforce of the future & upskilling for retention - no brainer
  
  
• Leading Apprenticeship End Point Assessment initiatives for a workforce to positively impact homes and businesses - no brainer

As well as a quality-first approach to End Point Assessment which ensures learners successfully complete the programme, we’ve developed a qualification mapped to the Low Carbon Heating Engineer Apprenticeship Standard to enhance it further. This is just one example with others being in the engineering sector with the Machining Technician End Point Assessment and Qualification, and many more.

In the little bit of a summer we had (I’m sure the sun popped out on the odd day!) I sat on a panel at the Apprenticeship Branding Conference about collaboration between employers, training providers and End Point Assessment Organisations. It was a fascinating discussion about how to achieve a truly triangulated approach. All too often the End Point Assessment is considered at the end instead of building it in from the beginning – and this is where you get the drop off in pass rates. It really starts with listening to industry leaders and employers to ensure apprenticeships meet their future needs in the first place. Many of the skills we need for the future do not yet exist and ‘past perfect’ when it comes to up-skilling is not the same as ‘future fit’ so we must keep innovating and developing.

We specifically choose to focus on Apprenticeship Standards that have the biggest future potential and relevance. Even when delivering End Point Assessment for more ‘traditional’ apprenticeships where skills gaps need to be filled in the short term, such as stonemasonry, we collaborate with employers and training providers to challenge assessment plans that need improving.

But, it’s time to refine the system & remove unnecessary barriers. This is what we’ll be talking about at our fringe event at the upcoming Labour Party Conference. In partnership with the New Statesman, we’re holding a panel session entitled ‘How can we reform the UK's skills system for a fairer, more productive and sustainable economy?’ Find out more here.
Supporting learners to fulfil their potential

But it’s not just about industry needs. When you work with NOCN Group on Apprenticeship End Point Assessment, you are getting a provider truly cares about learner outcomes and pathways. The End Point Assessment of an apprenticeship is key evidence of skills gained and the certificate has real meaning but, despite the name, it’s not actually the ‘end’ for the learner: It’s the beginning of an exciting career pathway as a lifelong learner. That’s not to say it can only happen at the beginning of a career though. Apprenticeships are designed for every age and stage in the workplace, providing an opportunity to up-skill or re-skill in an ever-changing environment where we are all working for longer and more flexibly. That’s something we practice ourselves at NOCN: I’m planning to do a Level 7 Apprenticeship at a more ‘mature’ age!

The key is flexibility. While we bring robustness to Apprenticeship End Point Assessment, we also bring realism and practicality because one size does not fit everyone, and we work hard to help keep people on programme who feel they haven’t had the appropriate training to pass by working collaboratively with training providers and employers to ensure all bases are covered. If we can find a solution that will make achieving an apprenticeship more inclusive and accessible, we’ll do it.

In fact, we’ve made a significant investment in a new platform for our assessments and examinations for the new academic year. It will allow us to adapt to more learning styles, making reasonable adjustments to things such as screen colour so that all learners are on an even playing field. We want people to know that if the ‘traditional’ education system has let you down, there’s an alternative that won’t put the same roadblocks in the way.

The next chapter

A new Government brings with it change but at NOCN Group we not only know that change is inevitable, we embrace it. Our job is to bring consistency to the ever-changing environment by being involved in the conversations at the highest level to ensure the message about what skills are needed in the future and how we develop them is heard. We stand behind apprenticeships and regulated qualifications, but we’ve also added Assured Courses, Short Online Courses, and Competence Cards & Tests to our suite of ‘skills solutions’ to offer something for everyone as we head into what we believe is a bright future.

If you’re interested in finding out more about our Apprenticeship End Point Assessment offering, we’d love to set up a call or meeting to discuss your needs for 2024/25. Please get in touch HERE.