For National Apprenticeship Week, Capita’s Alex Ball looks at how the London Institute of Banking & Finance has created apprenticeships that are meaningful, engaging and globally recognised.
Besides the introduction of the levy, the biggest shake-up to apprenticeships in the UK has been the removal of government-defined frameworks and the introduction of the new industry-set standards.
This presents an enormous opportunity to entire sectors of UK industry to grab control of their own future.
One of the biggest challenges is the existence of skills gaps: in almost every sector, employers share a common concern that workforce entrants often do not have all the work-ready skills that are required in the real world.
One industry body, the London Institute of Banking & Finance is an excellent example of how professional bodies, the employers they support, and apprenticeship providers can come together in a three-way relationship to solve this problem.
“The proactivity shown by the biggest banks and intermediary firms has been a real credit to the UK financial services industry.
Melanie Siggs, who runs the apprenticeship programme for The London Institute of Banking & Finance, explains:
“The proactivity shown by the biggest banks and intermediary firms has been a real credit to the UK financial services industry. There has been almost universal agreement between them and apprenticeship providers around the need to embed existing professional qualifications such as ours into apprenticeships.
“Tellingly, although the government no longer mandates qualifications within the new apprenticeship standards, the industry demands it anyway – which proves the continued value of professional qualifications and the unanimous need for recognisable professional standards to raise the quality, reputation and global competitiveness of the British banking sector.”
The success of the new apprenticeship standards is down to the partnerships and links created between employers, training providers and professional bodies like The London Institute of Banking & Finance.
By integrating professional qualifications into an apprenticeship programme, we can work to create a new generation of financial workers that are more engaged, and can show not just knowledge and understanding, but also real-world skills and competencies alongside them.
About the author
Alex Ball is commercial director, Capita Apprenticeships.
