British Army seeks ITPs to support their apprenticeship programme – contracting launch

An upcoming event will cover how ITPs can tender for these support contracts

FE Week Reporter

3 min read

| 25 April 2022, 6:00 am

Trainee Engineer Fitters strip down plant equipment at 1 Royal School of Military Engineering at Brompton Barracks, on their first day back to training after the beginning of the Coronavirus Lockdown.. The Royal Engineers from Brompton Barracks in Chatham, Kent were in the vanguard when it came to confronting the coronavirus and now as, the British Army eases itself back into a new sense of post COVID-19 training normality, it is once again forging ahead. Today, 1 Royal School of Military Engineering Regiment (1 RSME Regt) is reintroducing its trade training programme with several changes in place to ensure the safety of both the students and their instructors. In the workshops, classrooms and training facilities. There is an enhanced hand washing regime vigorously in place, all desks and work benches are set 2m apart, there is a one way system to navigate through the buildings and meal breaks are staggered to ensure the canteen is never full. 1 RSME is at the heart of the ArmyÕs skills base and is effectively its apprenticeship centre of excellence where Royal Engineer recruits embark on their subsequent trade training following initial trade training at Minley. It means learning any one of a myriad of different trades: from fabricator and Welder, electrician to plumber or fitter air conditioning and refrigeration, trades earning those recruits skills and qualifications that will take them through both their military careers and beyond. These transferable skills are all highly prized skills sets that make the individual highly employable in the civilian world. It was these skills that came to the fore when the country turned to the military to assist in the roll out of COVID-19 mobile testing units (MTU). the immediate requirement was for a vehicle designed and fitted out that could safely transport the equipment form location to location. The design was the brainchild of Royal Engineer Major Ben Foster, who would be later praised by the Chief of the Defen

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The British Army is holding an event for independent training providers (ITPs) to raise awareness of how their apprenticeship programme is delivered and what support services the Army needs from ITPs. The event will also cover how they can tender for these support contracts.

The ‘Industry Brief for Training Providers’ will be held at the British Army headquarters in Andover on Tuesday 10th May between 10.30am and 12.30pm. Attendees will learn about potential opportunities, timelines and how best to engage in the contracting process and be able to hear from representatives from army personnel policy, army education branch and army commercial.

As an employer provider, the Army delivers the majority of training in knowledge, skills and behaviours, as part of Army standard military courses. However, there are some aspects of a civilian apprenticeship standard which do not naturally fit within Army training.

The Army is looking for training providers who are able to assist them to support Army apprentices through their learning journey. These services include supporting induction and carrying out initial assessment and enrolment onto the apprenticeship; functional skills delivery (when required); managing data entry and individual learner records throughout the apprenticeship; carrying out regular progress reviews; preparation for end-point assessment (EPA) working with the Army nominated end-point assessment organisations (EPAOs) and support through the apprenticeship gateway. The training provider staff need to have the capability to work directly with Army units across a range of UK Army bases offering both face to face and remote support options.

Most of the Army’s apprenticeships commence as the soldier starts their initial trade training course, ensuring the apprenticeship is closely related to a soldier’s role. Offering an apprenticeship means that as well as becoming a better soldier, the soldier can be sure their apprenticeship will be valued both while serving and in the civilian employment sector.

The Army is keen to engage with a range of forward-thinking training providers as this model allows it to access the latest developments in apprenticeship delivery, working jointly to ensure a high completion rate that is well above the national average.

TheArmy was number one in the most recent Top 100 Apprenticeship Employers ranking and 90 per cent of new soldiers are enrolled onto an apprenticeship with more than 14,000 on programmes at any one time.

“Being listed top of the Top 100 was a really significant achievement for the Army. For those inside the organisation it provided reinforcement and validation of the outstanding training offer made to every soldier. Externally it demonstrated the breadth of the Army employment offer as well as its value to the individual whether their career aspirations remained within or outside the Army,” said Col Matt Ketterer, DACOS education branch.

There are currently over 37 programmes in a variety of trades from engineering and construction to hospitality and animal care.

The video below illustrates the breadth of trades soldiers undertake on apprenticeships

Training providers on the register of apprenticeship training providers (RoATP) that have the skills, capacity and capability to support this national programme and wish to attend the briefing event, should send their full name, organisation (max two names per organisation) and contact details to the Army apprenticeship team at ArmyIDev-Apprenticeship-Mailbox@mod.gov.uk by 3rd May 2022. You can also learn more about upcoming opportunities to work on the Army’s apprenticeship program as ITPs and EPAOs on the Defence Sourcing Portal (DSP) (mod.uk) where you can register for alerts.