University of Winchester, Winchester

What is it like to be a learner with this provider?

Most apprentices enjoy their studies. They demonstrate high levels of engagement and have a very positive attitude towards their learning. Social worker and healthcare apprentices, many who felt they had reached career 'ceilings', value the opportunity to work towards professional status, which the apprenticeship provides.

Apprentices benefit from effective teaching. As a result, they swiftly learn new knowledge, skills and behaviours, which they apply confidently in the workplace. For example, apprentice midwives learn to conduct abdominal palpation and to plot the growth of babies onto charts and in notes. They quickly develop the skills they need to support those in their care effectively. Chartered manager apprentices use their new knowledge to introduce project management tools, which help them to be efficient in the workplace.

What does the provider do well and what does it need to do better?

Leaders have carefully designed an apprenticeship offer that widens participation, providing apprentices with a range of accessible routes into higher education and professional careers. They have used their well-established employer links effectively to identify regional skills gaps. They have designed apprenticeships that meet these needs. For example, local authority and NHS employers collaborate very successfully with the university to attract new talent and upskill existing staff. As a result, they are now able to fill vacancies in midwifery and social work, that have been challenging to recruit to.

Leaders and managers rightly understand that apprenticeships in the business and digital sectors have not provided the high quality of education they expect. The new team acted swiftly to close these programmes to new entrants. They have taken appropriate actions to improve the experience and outcomes for apprentices still on programme. They have recruited and trained new teaching and coaching staff, improved monitoring and tracking and put in place extra teaching sessions for those who fall behind. As a result, most chartered manager and data scientist apprentices now attend well and are making expected progress. It is still too early to see the full impact for apprentices on the DTSP apprenticeship.

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