Tag Archives: highfield assessment

Highfield Christmas closing dates 2017

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‘He’s making a list and checking it twice; Gonna find out who’s naughty and nice ‘…yes, it’s nearly Christmas, which means the tree is up, the festive jumpers are on and the mince pies are doing the rounds in the Highfield office (so many mince pies…!).
But that also means we’re nearly upon our annual shutdown for the Christmas period. We’ll be closing at 5.30 pm on Thursday 21 December 2017 , and reopening on Tuesday 2 January 2018 . Unfortunately that also means any enquiries we receive between these dates won’t be responded to until the office reopens.
If you have orders that are urgent and you require before Christmas, please make them before 1 pm on Wednesday 20 December 2017 . These orders will be dispatched on a next-delivery.
If your order isn’t that urgent but you still need it delivered over the Christmas period, be sure to place it before 2 pm on Thursday 21 December 2017 . Any orders placed after this won’t be dispatched until the New Year.

As always, we’d like to thank you for your continued support over the last 12 months, in which we’ve been recognised as an end-point assessment organisation (EPAO) for apprenticeships, and took one of the top prizes at the Learning Technologies Awards in November for our e-learning. The awards are one the biggest in Europe, and open to some of the most famous digital names in the world, but the Highfield team beat them all to take the gold in the ‘Best use of learning technologies to ensure compliance’ category.

We also raised many more thousands of pounds for our chosen charity, Visually Impaired Children Taking Action (VICTA), and the important work they do. If you’d like to find out more or maybe make a donation yourself, go to www.victa.org.uk

So finally, on behalf of the entire Highfield team, have a very Merry Christmas and a happy and prosperous New Year!

Highfield Assessment receives ‘5 stars’ from FE Week

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We had some great news this morning thanks to FE Week, who rated Highfield Assessment ‘5 stars’ in their investigation into apprenticeship assessment organisations (AAOs).

The weekly magazine, which is read throughout the further education sector, conducted mystery shopper tests on a number of AAOs and their end-point assessment (EPA) offers, with Highfield receiving full marks!

You can read the article for yourselves (pages 10-11) at http://feweek.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/FE209-Digi.pdf?mc_cid=3974ee5b08&mc_eid=8f4553ca0a

To find out more about how Highfield Assessment can help you, go to https://www.highfieldassessment.com/

Support for retail employers on apprenticeship levy and assessment

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Employers looking to make the most of the impending changes to apprenticeships this spring will have help from one of the UK’s leading awarding organisations.

Highfield Qualifications has been approved by the government to provide end-point assessment (EPA) for the new Retailer Level 2 apprenticeship standard, which is currently being introduced throughout the sector, and will be offering retail employers a full range of support services to make the most of their potential apprenticeship levy payments.

The changes are some of the biggest ever to training in the UK, and will see new apprenticeship standards like the Retailer Level 2 use EPA instead of continuous assessment, meaning individual apprentices will have their work and competence assessed towards the end of their learning against criteria established by retail employers.

There will also be the introduction of the apprenticeship levy from 1 May 2017, with larger employers paying into a central fund that must be used for apprenticeship training, while smaller employers will see 90 percent of their costs covered by the government.

Chris Sprenger, Highfield MD, said, ‘We understand the forthcoming changes have caused concern to many businesses in a retail sector already facing the prospect of minimum wage rises and an uncertain landscape after Brexit.

However, with our recognition by government as an apprentice assessment organisation (AAO), Highfield is in a position to provide specific assessment services for those businesses already taking on Retailer Level 2 apprentices. We can also offer consultancy and advice to any organisation still trying understand the changes and make the most of them –  whether they are looking to take on apprentices for the first time, wanting to have their existing in-house training recognised, or searching for services and resources to ensure they claim their full share of funding entitlement’.

He added, ‘Apprenticeships are great for business and can provide a welcome boost to staff development and productivity when it is most needed, but it’s vital that organisations understand from day one how to make sure the changes are of benefit to them and their employees’.

Highfield’s apprenticeship services are being offered through its Highfield Assessment brand.

For more information, go to www.highfieldassessment.com

You can also contact Highfield at info@highfieldabc.net or by calling 0845 2260350.

Video updates are available here (Retailer standard)  and here (AAO approval).

Regular social media updates are available on Twitter and Facebook .

ENDS
Notes to editors:

  1. Highfield Qualifications has been approved by the Skills Funding Agency (SFA) as an apprenticeship assessment organisation (AAO) for the provision of end-point assessment for the Retailer Level 2 apprenticeship standard. Highfield’s apprenticeship services are delivered through its Highfield Assessment brand.
  2. Highfield Qualifications is one of the UK’s top five awarding organisations (AO) and winner of the Queen’s Award for Enterprise 2016, offering over 250 qualifications covering a wide variety of industries including retail, health and social care, rail, food safety, security, catering and hospitality, and logistics.
  3. Highfield Qualifications is part of the Highfield Group, which includes:
  • Highfield Qualifications – awarding organisation (AO)
  • Highfield International – learning resources publisher
  • Highfield elearning – developer of e-learning, e-assessment and learner management systems
  • Highfield Assessment – apprenticeship assessment organisation (AAO)
  • Highfield MEA – international operations, based in Dubai

Government confirm final funding proposals for Apprenticeship Levy

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974x300-linkedin This week the government confirmed the introduction of the apprenticeship levy from April 2017.

The levy will be payable by all UK employers that have a wage bill of more than £3 million. Employers will have to pay 0.5% of their pay roll costs, and these payments will be collected by HMRC from April 2017.  Employers that are not eligible to pay the levy will continue to receive government support towards apprenticeship training and assessment.

Following an open consultation with employers and training providers, the government has confirmed the final funding proposals of how the apprenticeship levy will work. While much of the guidance reiterates points that were announced in August, adjustments have been made to ensure that the reforms benefit more employers, providers and apprentices.

Key features from the updated funding policy include:

  • employers and training providers who take on 16 to 18-year-olds or 19 to 24-year-olds, who were in care or who have an education, health and care plan, on an apprenticeship framework or standard, will receive a £1,000 payment from the government
  • employers will now have 24 months to spend the levy funds within their digital account before they expire, extended from the 18 months originally proposed
  • higher funding bands for STEM apprenticeship frameworks; this has increased by 40% for level 2 and 80% for level 3
  • non-levy paying employers will only have to contribute 10% to the cost of training and assessment, with the remaining 90% funded by the government
  • employers with fewer than 50 employees who do not pay the levy will receive full government funding if they take on apprentices who are 16 to 18 years old, 19 to 24-year-old care leavers, or 19 to 24 year olds with an education, health and care plan
  • a commitment to introduce the ability for employers to transfer funds within their digital account to other employers in their supply chain and sector by 2018
  • training providers will also receive an additional cash payment equivalent to 20% of the funding band maximum where they train 16 to 18-year-olds on apprenticeship frameworks
  • the 15 funding bands have now been confirmed, which range from £1, 500 to £27,000
  • additional funding support up to £600 for apprentices who live in disadvantaged areas to ensure that the opportunity to undertake an apprenticeship is open to everyone, regardless of where they live, their background or family circumstances
  • training providers will be able to claim a flat rate of £471 direct from the government if they deliver English or maths, so that all apprentices have a basic knowledge of each subject
  • training providers will be able to claim up to £150 of additional funding on behalf of apprentices who require extra support because of a learning or other disability

To read the government document in full, please visit here .

If you are still unsure about how the levy will impact your business, or still have unanswered questions, please contact a member of the Highfield Assessment team today on sales@highfieldabc.net

Government publishes new guidance on the apprenticeship levy

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The government has released further guidance on the new apprenticeship levy, providing a clearer understanding of how it will be funded, and the role employers and training providers will play.

From 6 April 2017, all UK employers that have an annual pay bill of over £3 million will be required to pay an apprenticeship levy to invest in apprenticeships. The funding will support people of all ages to gain high-quality skills and experience and help employers to offer more training opportunities and build a skilled workforce.

Here are the key points from the proposals today:

  • Employers that are too small to pay the levy will have to pay 10% of the training costs, with the remaining 90% paid by the government.
  • Employers with less than 50 employees will not have to pay towards the training costs of 16 to 18-year-old apprentices, which will be 100% met by the government.
  • Employers who take on a 16 to 18-year-old apprentice will receive an additional £1,000.
  • Employers and training providers who take on 16 to 18-year-olds or young care leavers with an education, health and care (EHC) plan will receive additional funding.
  • Employers will be able to use levy funds to retrain workers in new skills, even if they have prior qualifications.
  • Employers subject to the apprenticeship levy, who want to spend more on training than is in their digital account, will see 90% of their additional apprenticeship training costs funded by the government.
  • From April 2017, a register of training providers will be available to improve the link between training providers and employers. The proposed funding system will consist of 15 bands, each with an upper limit and which will range from £1,500 to £27,000. 50% of each apprenticeship programme must be delivered by a training provider.
  • Employers who are also training providers will be subject to Ofsted regulations.
  • Providers who have an Ofsted rating of grade 4 will be unable to provide apprenticeships.
  • Apprenticeship providers will no longer be rewarded with a double payment for each apprenticeship start.
  • The success payment (paid upon successful completion of an apprenticeship) will be replaced with a 20% completion payment, regardless of the final grade.
  • Apprenticeships will be available to everybody over the age of 16 at all levels.
  • Training providers who have apprentices enrolled on programmes that do not receive approval on the new register of apprentice assessment organisations will have their learners transferred to another provider. This is currently under consultation.

To help employers see how the levy and funding system would impact them, the government has also created a new online calculator, which is available here .  This easy-to-use tool will allow employers to understand how much they will have to pay and how they could use their digital funds to pay for future training.

A consultation on the plans is now open, and will close on 5 September 2016. Employers and training providers are invited to have their say on the initial funding proposals to try to ensure that the final plans fully meet the needs of all those involved in the apprenticeship programme. If you would like to take part in the consultation, please click here .

The final proposal on the apprenticeship levy is due to be confirmed in October 2016.

The apprenticeship levy funding proposal is available here ; additional guidance on the levy can also be viewed here .