Issue - meetings

(1)       The Chairman welcomed Jon Thorn to the meeting and invited him to give his presentation and answer questions from Members.

(2)       Jon provided some background about the NAS. The NAS is a Government Agency which works closely with the SFA who manage the apprenticeship funding on NAS’ behalf. The NAS has 320 staff nationally and operates through 4 divisions. Within the division the functions are organised into two main strands; Business Development and Employer Accounts team to support employers to take on apprenticeships. In addition there is a dedicated team of experts to support small employers which support all divisions. The organisation also offers a web-based apprenticeship vacancy system which advertises all new apprenticeship vacancies. The system allows for applications to be made directly for the vacancies contained within.

(3)       Jon confirmed that all new apprenticeships should go onto the NAS website unless the employers specifically state otherwise.

Q – Is there a link to the KCC Apprenticeships website on the NAS website?

(4)       Jon replied that KCC had a separate website for vacancies but it linked to the vacancies posted on the NAS website.  Vacancies could be advertised in more than one place but NAS wanted to make sure that publicly funded apprenticeship opportunities are advertised on their site as far as possible.

Q – Further education colleges have their own recruitment system would they be expect to have their vacancies on this website?

(5)       Jon stated that he would expect to see these vacancies on the NAS website.  He explained that any employers who made contact via the NAS website would be party to a conversation on business needs and how this could be supported by an apprentice, the scale of the opportunity would also be explored e.g. whether there could be more than one apprentice. Impartial advice would also be give to the employer on training providers.  Where an employer was recruiting to a new post the training provider would manage the vacancy on behalf of the employer.

In a nutshell the journey can be seen as a 5 step process. NAS’ dedicated employer team, including SME specialists, will guide employers through a simple five-step process to hiring an apprentice:

1.      Define an employer’s requirements with an expert Apprenticeship adviser.

2.      Discuss the right training provider, Apprenticeship programme and confirm funding.

3.      Determine the number of apprentice(s) an employer requires.

4.      Drive recruitment applications through the free Apprenticeship vacancies service.

5.      Decide on the right person and the apprentice starts

Q – What level of contact do you have with SME’s?

(6)       NAS has a dedicated Small Business Team in each division that works directly with SME’s. The team has a growing contact with small employers but  it is important that NAS added value and did not duplicate the work of others in this area. Overall 8% of active SME’s in Kent, currently employ an Apprentice.

Presentation

(7)       The Chairman invited Jon to give his presentation (copy attached) and to answer questions on  ...  view the full minutes text for item 9