What is Off-The-Job Training?
What is Off-The-Job Training?
Off-the-job training is defined as any activity that supports an apprentice’s apprenticeship training that is not part of their day-to-day responsibilities.
Off-the-job training is required by law for an English apprenticeship. It is training that the apprentice receives during normal working hours to achieve the knowledge, abilities, and behaviours of the approved apprenticeship that the learner is completing. Normal working hours are defined as paid hours excluding overtime.
To be eligible for government support, all full-time apprentices (those who work 30 hours or more per week) must spend a minimum of 6 hours per week on off-the-job training during the practical term.
“It is not on-the-job training, which is training obtained by the apprentice solely to enable the trainee to execute the work for which they have been hired.” This refers to training that does not directly relate to the information, abilities, and behaviours outlined in the apprenticeship.”
Planning Off-The-Job Training
Empentis Training Solutions will review the apprentices’ planned learning programme and assist managers and employers in identifying suitable off-the-job activities. These actions will be compiled into a comprehensive strategy to ensure that all criteria are completed. The apprenticeship agreement and training plan will include this information. We will also give line managers with clear direction and help in outlining their obligations. Off-the-job training must include:
- Be applicable to the apprenticeship programme.
- Be independent from your regular job role and working surroundings.
- Concentrate on acquiring new information, skills, and behaviours.
- Occur within the paid working hours
Examples of Off-The-Job Training
The training might include a variety of activities that will assist the apprentice grow as an employee. Here are a couple of examples:
- Learning new abilities at work by observing other team members, if this activity has been agreed upon and documented as part of the training plan.
- Apprenticeship-related in-house training programmes
- Consultations with your Empentis trainer
- Writing reflective journals throughout the apprenticeship on learning experiences
- Attendance at apprenticeship-related seminars, training days, and webinars
- Completion of online learning with Empentis trainers/or an in-house system
- Self-study, such as reading or watching videos
- Instruction in new working habits or the use of new equipment
- Simulation or role-playing activities
- Apprenticeship-related industry visits/conferences
- Writing assessments, assignments and completing projects or activities
- Practical training or on-the-job training applicable to the apprenticeship
Benefits
A greater awareness of the overall knowledge, skills, and behaviours necessary in the sector as a whole
Encourages a flexible, practical, and creative approach to learning, as well as the potential to acquire new, transferrable skills.
Real-life learning provides a setting in which learning may be explored in a variety of ways.
Contact with motivating and highly skilled trainers is possible.
Allows students to network with one another and increase their expertise.
Provides access to a multitude of online content that may supplement and enhance in-house training by Empentis Training Solutions.
Calculating Off-The-Job Training
The minimum number of hours required is no longer linked to working hours (as was the former 20% off-the-job training guideline). Off-the-job training now consists of a minimum of six hours per week – a consistent quantity regardless of the apprentice’s hours worked.
The EFSA adopted this six-hour number because it reflects 20% of the 30 hours that all part-time apprentices now work. It implies that apprentices who work more than 30 hours per week can now devote less than 20% of their time to off-the-job training.
Additional considerations for determining off-the-job training include:
- Why Learner statutory leave should not be included in the six hours of devoted off-the-job training. It only applies during business hours.
- Some apprentices and standards may require more than the minimum of 6 hours of off-the-job training each week. Apprentices must obtain the necessary amount of high-quality apprenticeship training to attain complete occupational competence
- Any off-the-job training (evening industry events) that occurs outside of working hours must be compensated for or offset against regular working hours.
- Additional training after a failed end-point evaluation does not count toward the required six hours per week. Before beginning end-point evaluation, the shortest amount of time must be attained.
- The six hours per week are solely for calculating reasons; once computed, the programme can still be given in a flexible manner.
- The first evaluation of the apprentice must influence the volume of instruction offered. This might imply that an apprentice works more than six hours each week.
How do you record Off-The-Job Training?
It is critical to document off-the-job training activities and ensure that they are genuine and helpful. As previously stated, learners cannot proceed to the end-point assessment stage and finish their programme unless the required number of committed training hours have been completed.
Empentis training solutions will provide a document for the apprentice and line manager to fill in with the off-the-job hours they can track. This means you can observe and monitor what hours have been taken and the tasks/ activities the learner has done throughout the training.
Our trainer will discuss this with the apprentice and line manager in the apprenticeship plan provided and created.
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