Sekeriye Jimaleh

An introduction to the Engineering and Manufacturing Apprenticeship

Typically with this apprenticeship, it lasts up to 24 months on the programme before entering gateway and completing your EPA (End Point Assessment). You will be working towards your EPA through completing a portfolio during your time at the apprenticeship by writing around your experiences and how you have been hitting certain competencies. The whole EPA process should be completed within 5 months from the confirmation date that the apprentice has successfully gone through gateway.

In terms of the portfolio, this is going to be your main evidence to proceed to the EPA as this will have the records of all the tasks completed during your time at work and how you have developed as an apprentice from the start to the end. Apprentices must submit their portfolio before going through your gateway in order to make sure you complete the programme. Your portfolio is made up of on the job experiences, supporting evidence by providing screenshots of the relevant company activities.

There are 3 tasks required to complete your EPA to a high standard

• Having a work place observation completed with a quality assurance assessment so that your employer has made the necessary checks to confirm that the apprentice has what is required to progress in their EPA
• Completing their project/portfolio and presentation with a quality assurance
• To finish off the EPA, a professional discussion will be held with the apprentice that involves an assessor asking questions to the apprentice regarding their portfolio and show examples of their work to the assessor to make it known that the apprentice is competent and has been successful in their role.

Top tips in succeeding this apprenticeship (From my experience)!

• Make sure you understand the course you are studying to a very good standard, this will remove any confusion throughout your apprenticeship.
• Learning how to manage your time will be crucial to your success as it is easy for workload to pile up significantly, communicating when you are not available to complete a task will really set you apart from the rest in making sure you have adequate time to complete your assignments
• Take notes during your working hours to get inspired and add to your portfolio. This will provide a lot more detail to your work and highlight your experience
• Making your employer aware of your apprenticeship course at all times will allow them to manage how much work you receive and become more understanding. This will improve your experience as an apprentice. Engaging employer will be vital to the success of your apprenticeship.
• Learn beyond your apprenticeship course to help you understand the industry a lot better. This can be achieved by having conversations with people who are at your workplace as well as extensive research on areas you would like to learn about that fascinate you. This will make you standout from the crowd and make you more valuable as an apprentice
• Always ask questions! This is the way to grow and develop by learning from your mistakes as well bettering yourself. Your apprenticeship provider and employer is a good place to start as they can guide you through difficult times and provide wisdom over to you as an individual.

To Sum up

When it comes to completing an apprenticeship, it can be a little bit overwhelming at the beginning however once you start to learn your role and what is required of you, it starts to become easier each day. Being consistent with your work and constantly learning will be the success to your apprenticeship. Being proactive will make sure you prepare for all the things that come your way in your apprenticeship as things unexpected things do occur and will need dealing with.

Are you a creative individual who is motivated by providing excellent customer service and working with the local authorities? Look no further as this apprenticeship might be the stepping stone you require to get into the world of taxes and understanding Welfare to the highest standard!

What are the requirements and responsibilities for Level 4 Revenue and Welfare roles?

• Dealing with customers and understanding how to adapt to different situations
• Understanding the relevant legislation’s to increase accuracy in taking actions for example Government Finance
• Being able to understand and deal with arranging payments, collecting payments as well as explaining why certain actions are taken to the customer
• Having the ability to understand the knowledge behind the Welfare System
• Knowing how to handle sensitive information in order to deal with customers in the correct manner
• Show high level of communication skills to work with other teams and achieve your goals
• Approaching all types of situation with optimism and confident so that issues can be tackled accordingly
• Understanding appeal processes and the time frame related to each process
• Being able to consider each customers situation and make a decision based on that
• Analysing data and providing justification with the information on hand

Jobs and career paths with a Level 4 Revenue and Welfare qualification?

With the Revenue and Welfare apprenticeship, you dive into the understanding and learning about the welfare benefit system. Gaining this knowledge will help customers deal with financial issues they may be facing and with your experience from this qualification you are able to advice and guide individual in making better decisions for themselves. The types of roles that you can get into with this apprenticeship includes the likes of Council Tax Officer, Business Rates Officer, Welfare Officer, Benefit Advisor etc. With this apprenticeship, it covers a wide range of knowledge so that your skills are transferable over to different roles giving you variety and freedom to choose the types of jobs you want in this industry. Starting salary for this apprenticeship role range from £25,000 and once completed, salaries can go all the way up to £70,000. This depends on your experience and company you work with as they are all different however salaries can be lucrative when you’re really good at your job!

The qualifications needed to apply to this apprenticeship are usually 5 GCSE’s or more (Including English and Math) .These are the typical standards required for most apprenticeships. You may require a Level 3 qualification as well but this depends on the employer as well. Another important aspect of applying to apprenticeship is to show your willingness to learn and your desire to achieve more in the workplace. Employers really appreciate this and can improve your chances of landing a successful apprenticeship. The Duration of this apprenticeship is between 12 – 18 months to complete the program, this gives you enough time to understand the industry and gain experience at the same time to become an expert in this field.

In Conclusion?

Having looked at all the perks with starting an apprenticeship in Revenue and Welfare, it provides a lot of opportunities in terms of the different career paths you can access. If you are tech savvy and like working with people, this apprenticeship gives you the best of both world where you can demonstrate those skills in the workplace. Your expertise and knowledge will be widely appreciated as you will be dealing with complex matters that affect consumers daily lives that need solving. These Jobs are needed almost everywhere you go so being knowledgeable in this field can be very useful. Earning a good salary for this apprenticeship is something that is great, rewarding you for your contributions and efforts.