CPA Bulletin

44 CPA Bulletin > May 2023 www.cpa.uk.net Construction Equipment Maintenance Technician Apprenticeship Some of the feedback from the Colleges included: • Difficulty in understanding what the apprenticeship standard is asking to be delivered as the language is sometimes open to interpretation; • Getting the right plant and equipment with the ‘new technologies’ to train on e.g. electric/battery driven. They stated that agricultural and light vehicle manufacturers are very helpful but not construction equipment manufacturers; • Difficulty (and costly) in getting staff up to-date with modern technologies; • Difficulty in sourcing both technical information/presentations and specialist diagnostic equipment from the manufacturers; • Annual licensing costs for diagnostic software, which is very prohibitive; • Employers not understanding their role in delivering the apprenticeships or cannot always provide the necessary work experience opportunities due to the nature of their work; • Difficulty in attracting teaching staff from the construction sector due to high wages being paid onsite and not helped by (for some Colleges) rigid pay-based pay structures. The general issues from the Colleges was mainly around resourcing - costs and expertise - and from these and other items of feedback, CPA is drafting a number of action plans, including seeing how the link between the Colleges and the construction equipment manufacturers can be strengthened e.g. by involving the plant manufacturer’s trade association. In the meantime, CPA is already in a position to advise members in not only how to navigate the registration process but also on delivery and assessment processes. This advice can be provided by the CPA’s Apprenticeship Ambassador, Paul Skitt who can be contacted at paul.skitt @ cpa.uk . net whilst the technical aspects of delivery can be provided by myself at peter @ cpa.uk.net . Delivery support material has also been produced for the apprenticeships of Construction Plant Operative, Hire Controller and Lifting Technician through the availability of a work record portfolio for each occupation. Each portfolio allows the apprentice to record their workplace activities, whilst the overarching matrix outlines to both the employer and the apprentice what type of work experience should be undertaken and completed during the apprenticeship. The matrix has been mapped against the standard - skills and knowledge and behaviours that needs to be learnt during the apprenticeship - and is further used as evidence during the professional discussion element of the end point assessment. Each portfolio can be downloaded free of charge from https://www.cpa.uk.net/skills- training/apprenticeships/apprenticeship- support-material. The next article in the August issue of the CPA Bulletin will outline solutions and actions that the CPA is providing to address the issues raised by the reports and the Colleges. It will look at how employers can better support the learning process of the apprenticeship and highlight the vital role of workplace mentors and their valuable contribution to apprenticeship delivery. TRAINING: 3 As reported in the November 2022 issue of the CPA Bulletin, an employer working group has been working on the submission to develop this construction plant-specific apprenticeship at Level 3 and was submitted for approval to the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education (IfATE) in January 2023. For the submission, the working group had to identify the occupational duties - the type of work plant maintenance technicians would typically undertake, likely registrations per annum and why other similar apprenticeships could not be used. The submission was initially evaluated internally by IfATE fromwhich it then went to the Engineering and Manufacturing Employer Route Panel, as IfATE designates the route panel for each apprenticeship. The route panel evaluated the submission, with the working group’s Chair and CPA Technical Manager asked to attend the meeting fromwhich they provided a short, spoken summary of the proposal and then answered a number of questions. The final stage of approval was with the IfATE Compliance Board who made the final decision. We’re pleased to announce that in late March, the working group was informed that the submission was successful and formal approval has now been received from IfATE to develop and launch the apprenticeship. The working group has since commenced work on devising the required knowledge, skills and behaviours (KSBs) which is the next stage of development, followed by the development of the end point assessment which, as it says, is the final assessment that confirms that all the relevant learning has been achieved. It is hoped that the apprenticeship could be ready for delivery by September 2023. The funding band - the maximum amount of funding provided by Government - will be determined by what is offered for similar types of apprenticeships and is likely to be a point of discussion between IfATE and the working group.