A new apprenticeship toolkit is helping schools, colleges and other providers to spread the message about the benefits of apprenticeships and ensure their learners make more informed choices for the future.
 
Developed by the London Vocational Peer Group (LVPG) through an LSIS-funded project, the resource is designed to help providers dispel some of the myths surrounding apprenticeships and vocational education. 
 
It enables staff to deliver more effective guidance about how the apprenticeship route embraces content, skills and teaching modes which are vastly different from those used in more conventional academic study. Read the case study on the Excellence Gateway.
 
The LVPG - which brings together a number of training providers within the FE sector - was among the 91 collaborative groups to receive funding earlier this year under a  LSIS scheme to support innovation in 14-19 vocational curriculum development. Visit the Excellence Gateway for further information about the 14-19 scheme.
 
One of the main aims of this scheme was to increase access to apprenticeships.  LPVG responded to the challenge by producing a cohesive transferable resource for providers to use in offering information about how to progress and succeed through the apprenticeship route.
 
The toolkit can be used with a range of audiences including young people, Connexions advisers, career advisers and teachers.  Activities, which can be delivered in bite-sized chunks, may be mixed and matched to dovetail with providers’ own resources and services.
 
Sessions cover themes such as an introduction to apprenticeships, career planning, how to write a good CV and covering letter, interview techniques and money matters.
 
All are supported with ready-to-use materials such as Powerpoint presentations, session plans, handouts, posters, apprenticeship frameworks, progression charts, video diaries and useful weblinks. 
 
The apprenticeship toolkit has attracted a great deal of interest and won positive feedback following its presentation to a number of groups in London.  These included senior managers, school staff and Connexions advisers from the boroughs of Sutton, Kingston, Merton, Croydon, Wandsworth, Richmond, Southwark and Waltham Forest. 
 
The National Apprenticeship Service has also shown an interest in the materials, which will be disseminated through the Excellence Gateway.