Jennifer Coupland, CEO, Nikki Christie, Deputy Director and Hannah Toulson, Digital Capability and Innovations Manager from the Institute for Apprenticeships (IfA) visited Bauer Academy to find out more about our apprenticeships and how we operate. They spent the afternoon with us and got to speak to many members across our team, as well as some of our learners, about their experiences. Jennifer and Nikki described Bauer Academy’s apprenticeships as ‘exciting’ and ‘something you would want to do’.
We asked Jennifer, Nikki and Hannah about the role of the IfA and what their vision for apprenticeships is.
“The IfA work with employers in a vast range of sectors to set high quality apprenticeship standards. Our vision is ‘for a world-leading apprenticeships and technical education system, that equips people from all backgrounds for skilled occupations contributing to increased economic productivity’”.
“We are sponsored by the Department for Education (DfE), however an independent chair heads up our board and oversees all the work that we do. The IfA are employer led, we feel very strongly about being this way, and so our board of execs is made up of employers and business leads from all sectors. When we work on developing new apprenticeships, we have industry experts who look at job sectors and think about what specific skills are needed. This then allows us to create standards that are desirable, educational, and unique to each respective sector”.
“We work alongside employers daily to develop our standards and make sure they are fit for the jobs that are needed; these are known as our trail blazer groups. Employers call the shots on the skills and knowledge that their industry needs from our apprenticeship standards”.
“We want to continue to make apprenticeships even greater through our employer led system. We want to have a world leading apprenticeship system that gives employers and leaders the skills that they need to thrive in their sectors”.
Finally, we asked them what they thought to Bauer Academy’s approach to apprenticeships and were delighted with their response from the day.
“Bauer Academy’s approach to apprenticeships is thoughtful, personalised, and exciting. The apprenticeship programmes look like something people would wantto do, not something they would be made to do. This has been made so evident to us through talking to the apprentices that are currently enrolled on your programmes. I loved hearing them speak some openly and honestly about their educational journeys and what led them to Bauer Academy. It was fascinating hearing them talk about how some of their previous higher education choices didn’t lead them to where they wanted to be, so now they are doing an apprenticeship and gaining the skills that they need”.
This day was a fantastic opportunity to learn more about the Institute for Apprenticeships and show them the amazing work that Bauer Academy does which we are all so proud of.
