The HR and Payroll Apprenticeships - Guest Article by Ian Holloway

24/10/19

Many professions face a skills and resource crisis. Employers struggle to find talent, as there is either not enough new blood up-and-coming or current training does not always give existing professionals the relevant knowledge, skills and behaviours. Or, even worse, the new blood coming into professions are subject to poor training.

Therefore, we should be welcoming the increasing return of professional apprenticeship qualifications to the workplace. Traditionally, they were always the route into professions but they have changed for three reasons:

The protection of the term apprenticeship in the Enterprise Act 2015
The introduction of the Apprenticeship Levy from April 2017, and
The transition from employer-designed Specification of Apprenticeship Standards for England (SASE) to employer-led Trailblazer Standards and Assessment Plans

It is necessary to mention that skills is a devolved policy, therefore, the apprenticeship changes apply in England only. Even though the Levy applies UK-wide, the new apprenticeships and Levy funds can be used only by employers who employ apprentices who work at least 50% of their time in England.

We have to leave aside our thoughts on this and accept that this is one of the implications of devolution in the UK. However, all would have to agree that it is strange, to say the least. For UK-wide professions such as payroll and HR, to have one set of learning outcomes applying to English apprenticeships and others applying in the devolved nations does not seem to make sense.

An Apprenticeship

There are two documents that make-up the new employer-led Apprenticeships:

The Standard

This is an overview document detailing all of the knowledge, skills and behaviours required to achieve the apprenticeship qualification. At this point, it is worth saying that it is a professional qualification, designed by individuals that work in the profession and specifically for that profession. In no way does this detract from the many commercial qualifications that exist and there is still a place for these alongside professional apprenticeships.

The Assessment Plan

This document expands greatly on the Standard, detailing the particular knowledge, skills and behaviour (KSB) learning outcomes that will be assessed to achieve the professional qualification. This is useful for apprenticeship training providers when developing their offerings.

It also describes the assessment methods used by the End-Point Assessment Organisation that will be the judge of competence. The assessment methods will have been designed to be:

Robust – (assessing full competence that the learning outcomes have been achieved)
Appropriate – (for the profession) and
Deliverable – (by the End-Point Assessment Organisation)

HR First

To their credit, the Human Resources profession was quick off of the mark with the Level 3 HR Support Apprenticeship, approved for delivery from August 2017. Around the same time, and devised by the same group of employers forming the Trailblazer, the Level 5 HR Consultant / Partner Apprenticeship was made available.

A Level 7 Senior People Professional Apprenticeship is now in development.

Payroll Following

Payroll professionals did start building a Level 3 Apprenticeship back in 2017. However, for whatever reason, the Trailblazer was not strong and was not held together by the Chair at that time.

I came onto the scene in late 2017 and took this over, reforming a Trailblazer that could work together and approaching this with gusto. After all, this is a qualification designed by professionals specifically for professionals who knew exactly what is required for occupational competence at this level.

In June 2018, The Trailblazer and I were pleased to be able to develop and deliver the Level 3 Payroll Administrator Apprenticeship to the profession.

Currently, we are building the Level 5 Payroll Assistant Manager Apprenticeship and are the proposal was submitted yesterday.

Professionals in the driving seat…..

Apprenticeships are not new, however, the relatively new regime brings with it new qualifications to the HR and payroll professions. It is absolutely correct that they have been constructed for the profession by members of the profession, known as the Trailblazer. The Trailblazer knows what is appropriate for the profession and that is the whole point of apprenticeship qualifications – designed by the profession rather than written for the profession. It is not based on what a training provider believes is appropriate.

For the first time, employers are now in the driving seat when it comes to training provision.

However, as with any new regime, there needs to be a change of mind-set by employers and individuals. After all, employers can use their Apprenticeship Levy funds toward these, or get co-investment from the UK Government. So, I would highlight to both:

Apprenticeships are valid and industry-recognised qualifications
They have been written by the profession specifically for the profession. As such, these professional qualifications have the potential to change the commercial training and qualification landscape
Apprenticeships can be used for new employees and to upskill existing employees
They are not just for employers that pay the Apprenticeship Levy. Have a look at the Gov.UK guidance ‘Apprenticeship funding: how it works’

My hope is that all professions, HR and payroll included, will see training shift towards what is appropriate and relevant for that profession, all thanks to the rise of apprenticeships. An increase in competent and qualified professionals of the future can only be the result, so I urge employers to get in the driving seat and start future-proofing our professions.

Ian has been in the payroll profession for over 30 years, processing payrolls from all sectors, large and small. He moved from hands-on exposure in 2011 to become involved in educating the profession. His wide-ranging experience and up-to-date knowledge ensured he was able to impart this information to UK professionals through course material, social media, newsletters and face-to-face presentations.

Today Ian combines both these and is involved with a vital aspect of the payroll environment, that of working with the software that actually does a lot of the hard work for the profession. He is thrilled to be the Head of Legislation and Compliance at Cintra HR and Payroll Services, who constantly demonstrate their commitment to quality and compliant payroll and HR software, support and payroll services.

Ian approaches education and communication very much from the perspective of how this will impact the software, the employer and the worker. So, whilst the legislation is vital, compliance and effective communication are paramount.

LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/ian-holloway-5959121a/

Cintra – www.cintra.co.uk