Strand 2Supporting Providers to Engage

with Employers

Commissioned and funded byOrganised by

West Berkshire Training Consortium

Supporting staff to engage with employers throughout the Traineeship

Produced as part of the Traineeship Staff Support Programme, commissioned and funded by the Education and Training Foundation.

www.traineeship-staff-support.co.uk

WBTC • Est. 1983, not-for-profit independent training

provider• Apprenticeships, ASB provision, ESF programmes,

EFA 16-19 study programme• Existing employer base for Apprenticeships –

attracting new employers through 16-19 work based study programme including Traineeships

What makes a good Traineeship placement?

Shared objectives and expectations

Structured and purposeful work

experience

Supportive mentoring

Preparation for progression

Partnership between employer, Trainee and training

provider

Identified provider staff support needs:

• Clear and simple materials to explain the offer to employers

• An easy way to work with employers to set up, structure and monitor the placement across a range of sectors and settings

• A way to help employer staff get the most from working with a trainee

Meeting the needs 1

Toolkit for securing the placements:• information for provider staff• power point presentation for use with groups of employers• 3 case study videos• employer information leaflet (as hand-out from a presentation

or a conversation starter with individual employers)• employer checklist – would Traineeships work for you?

All can be customised to include provider logos and contact details and adapted to include local examples.http://www.traineeship-staff-support.co.uk/content/wbtc-employer-briefing-toolkit

Meeting the needs 2

Toolkit for structuring the placements:• everything needed for provider staff to produce a personalised placement

record for each trainee and each placement while maintaining a common format within a provider

• enables employer engagement in structuring and monitoring the placement with minimal paperwork

• pick and mix ‘menu’ • supplied as individual documents for flexibility• example of a complete record for staff guidance – and for use with employers

to show how simple it isDesigned particularly to support providers with individual trainees in a range of small businesses – can be adapted easily for a sector specific or employer specific model.http://www.traineeship-staff-support.co.uk/content/wbtc-toolkit-structuring-traineeship-placements

Meeting the needs 3

Audio guide - ‘Supporting trainees in the workplace’.• Helping provider staff to engage with and support employer

staff throughout the placement – stresses the partnership approach

• Getting over the barrier of ‘I wouldn’t know what to do with a Trainee’

• Cost effective and time effective learning for provider staff and employer staff

• Can be offered for self directed learning and/or used as the basis of face to face workshops

http://www.traineeship-staff-support.co.uk/content/wbtc-line-course-supporting-trainees-workplace

Impact and benefits for staff:

• Whole organisation awareness – all tools available on internal system and ‘customised’ to WBTC delivery

• Employer facing staff more confident and prepared • Toolkit approach to structuring and monitoring

placements saves time for staff but maintains quality and ensures consistency

• Higher degree of shared expectations and partnership approach with work placement employers

• Wider benefits – Traineeship materials and employer engagement approach adapted for other programmes

Visit the West Berkshire Training Consortium project pages on the TSSP website –

we would love to know if you use the resources.

HEATHER WHITEheather@wbtc-uk.com

www.wbtc-uk.com

Produced as part of the Traineeship Staff Support Programme, commissioned and funded by the Education and Training Foundation.

www.traineeship-staff-support.co.uk