Top Skills Required for Business Development in the Training and Apprenticeship Sector

In the dynamic world of training and apprenticeships, business development professionals play a crucial role in expanding opportunities and forging valuable partnerships. Strong consultative engagement with employers to understand their apprenticeships needs is crucial.

Here are the top skills required to excel in this sector:

1. Strategic Thinking: Successful business development relies on the ability to see the bigger picture. This includes identifying market trends, understanding industry needs, and developing long-term strategies that align with organisational goals.
2. Relationship Building: Strong interpersonal skills are essential. Building and maintaining relationships with educational institutions, employers, corporate partners is key to creating successful apprenticeship programs.
3. Communication Skills: Clear and persuasive communication is vital for pitching programs, negotiating contracts, and collaborating with stakeholders. Effective communication ensures all parties understand the value and benefits of apprenticeships.
4. Project Management: Managing multiple projects simultaneously requires excellent organisational skills. This includes setting goals, tracking progress, and ensuring that deadlines are met without compromising quality.
5. Marketing Acumen: Knowledge of marketing strategies helps in promoting apprenticeship programs. This includes understanding digital marketing, social media, and content creation to attract both apprentices and employers.
6. Analytical Skills: Analysing data to assess the success of training programs and making informed decisions based on these insights is crucial. This involves tracking key performance indicators (KPIs) and adjusting strategies as needed.
7. Problem-Solving: The ability to quickly address and resolve issues that arise during program development and execution is vital. This ensures smooth operations and maintains the trust of partners and apprentices.
8. Adaptability: The training and apprenticeship sector is constantly evolving. Being adaptable and open to change allows business development professionals to stay ahead of industry shifts and maintain a competitive edge.

By honing these skills, business development professionals can effectively contribute to the growth and success of training and apprenticeship programs, ensuring they meet the needs of both apprentices and employers. This multifaceted approach not only enhances personal career growth but also significantly impacts the broader landscape of workforce development.

The National Skills Agency is the UK’s specialist recruiter for the Apprenticeship, Awarding & Training marketplace. 

Our recruitment services are designed to meet the unique needs of your training or awarding business. The National Skills Agency can help you find exceptional work-based learning assessors, employability trainers, apprenticeship assessors, and more. With an experienced and well connected team, we cover the education, skills, and training sector UK wide.

Urgent Roles

We understand that urgent situations arise where you may need a trainer or assessor on short notice, sometimes even within hours. The National Skills Agency has a pool of experienced candidates ready for their next role in training and assessing, across further education colleges, training providers, and end-point assessment organisations. We are confident we can help you find that perfect candidate!

Just let us know what you need, and we’ll make sure it happens.

www.nationalskillsagency.co.uk   020 3953 1984

Introduction

The Apprenticeship, Training, and Awarding sector is crucial for driving the UK's skills agenda and supporting economic growth. However, attracting and retaining top talent remains a significant challenge. This guide aims to provide some insights and practical advice on recruiting and retaining exceptional talent in our sector, including a comprehensive salary guide for 2024.

Ultimately a great learner experience coupled with learner success is the goal and hiring and retaining the best candidates is paramount to ensuring overall success.

Here are some key strategies to help training providers and awarding bodies navigate this landscape:

Recruitment Tips:

1. Start Early: Initiate the recruitment process as early as possible to stay ahead.
2. Offer Flexibility: Be open to hybrid or remote working arrangements.
3. Detailed Job Specifications: Clearly outline job benefits, company culture, and expectations.
4. Glassdoor Reviews: Monitor and improve your organisation's online reputation.
5. Streamline the Interview Process: Avoid lengthy interview stages and application end dates to prevent losing candidates to quicker competitors.
6. Competitive Salaries and Benefits: Ensure your compensation packages are in line with the current market.
7. Swift Job Offers: Send out offer letters promptly to secure top candidates.
8. Cultural Fit: Allow candidates to meet team members and tour the office to assess cultural compatibility.

Retention Strategies:

1. Regular Reviews: Conduct frequent performance reviews to provide feedback and recognition.
2. Sensible Targets: Set achievable goals to maintain motivation.
3. Team Events: Organise activities to foster team cohesion.
4. Recognise Hard Work: Acknowledge and reward employees’ efforts.
5. Upgrade Equipment: Ensure staff have the tools they need to perform efficiently.
6. Flexible Schedules: Adapt working hours to accommodate employees' needs.
7. Professional Development: Offer training and growth opportunities.
8. Promote from Within: Provide career advancement opportunities to existing staff.
9. Good Communication: Maintain open and transparent communication channels.

The art of the Job Description!

Think about optimising the way you craft job descriptions to reflect the impact employees can have in specific roles — based on skills, experience, knowledge, and lived experiences — you’ll create better, more productive conversations around the skills and work experience candidates have but may not mention on their CV’s. 

Creating an effective job description is not an easy feat. In fact, while 72% of managers believe they create effective job descriptions, only 36% of candidates agree. Not only that, but most job seekers will spend a mere 14 seconds deciding whether to apply to a role based on the job description. It’s fair to say that, as a recruiter/employer, you have a brief window in which you can capture a candidate’s attention and convert them from job seeker to applicant. But do traditional job descriptions do the trick?

Here are a few questions that you and the hiring team should consider:

Who are the top performers on our team and what are their qualities?

What will this person be responsible for?

What would they be the primary owner of?

How will the business/team goals be affected if we can’t make this hire?

Who will this person work closely with and how?

How will this role look different 12 months from now?

How does this role in our company differ from the same role in another company?

How will you measure or determine whether you’ve made the right hire?

When putting your job spec together think about:

Job Title -

Make your job titles specific. Targeted job titles are more effective than generic ones, so be precise by including key phrases that accurately describe the role.

Avoid internal jargon that may confuse the job seeker. Stick to standard experience levels like “Senior” rather than other terms people are less likely to look for.

Keep the job title concise. Job titles with 80 characters or less receive more applications.

Job Summary -

Open with a strong, attention-grabbing summary.Your summary should provide an overview of your company and expectations for the position.

Hook your candidate with details about what makes your company unique.

Include an exact job location & hours.Provide an exact job location to optimise your responses

Paint a transparent picture of your company culture and what it’s like to work in your organisation

Responsibilities and Duties -

Outline the core responsibilities of the position.Make sure your list of responsibilities is detailed but concise. Also emphasise the duties that may be unique to your organisation. For example, if you are hiring for a “Delivery Manager” role and the position requires IQA experience, include this detail to ensure candidates understand the requirements and can determine if they’re qualified.

Highlight the day-to-day activities of the position.This will help candidates understand the work environment and the activities they will be exposed to on a daily basis.

Specify how the position fits into your organisation.Indicate who the person reports to and how they will function within your organisation, helping candidates see the bigger picture and understand how the role impacts the wider business.

Qualifications and Skills -

Include a list of hard and soft skills.Of course, the job description should specify education, previous job experience, certifications and technical skills required for the role. You may also include soft skills, like communication and problem solving, as well as personality traits that you envision for a successful employee.

Keep your list concise.While you may be tempted to list every requirement you envision for your ideal employee, including too many qualifications and skills could dissuade potential candidates.

Salary and Benefits -

Include a salary range.Quality candidates look for opportunities that meet their salary needs. Stand out from other employers by adding the salary band to your job description to help attract best-fit candidates.

Highlight your top perks and benefits.Encourage more people to apply by sharing the attractive rewards and benefits you offer your employees, such as:

• Unlimited holiday
• Flexible hours
• Office snacks
• Tuition reimbursement
• Dog-friendly office

Be brand Aware!

Social media plays an even more significant role in recruiting today. Consider creating recruitment-specific social media channels to interact with potential candidates. Why not create a recruitment video highlighting the reasons a potential candidate would want to join your company. 

If willing, employees can also be featured on these social accounts (such as employee profiles) so that candidates see a more personable side to your brand. Don’t forget to connect social profiles to careers and company profile pages on your site, too. 

The Importance of Recruiting the Best Possible Staff

Recruiting top-tier talent is crucial for organisational success. Skilled employees bring valuable experience and innovation, boosting overall performance and competitiveness. Key benefits include:

1. Enhanced Skills and Experience: Top talent improves business processes and drives innovation.
2. Improved Morale and Job Satisfaction: Valued employees are more motivated and productive.
3. Competitive Advantage: A skilled workforce helps organisations stay ahead in a fast-paced market.
4. Better Reputation: Skilled employees enhance the organisation’s reputation, attracting clients, investors, partners and PR.

Guide to Current Salaries in the Apprenticeship Sector 2024

Senior Leadership Roles

• Apprenticeship Managers: £45k - £60k
• Head of Apprenticeships: £60k - £80k
• Operations Managers: £40k - £50k

Assessors / Coaches / Trainers / Tutors (Sector Specific)

• Accountancy – AAT: £35k - £40k
• Accountancy – ACCA / CIMA / ICAEW: £40k - £60k
• Adult Care (Level 3): £30k - £33k
• Adult Care (Level 5): £33k - £37k
• Construction: £35k - £43k
• Customer Service/Bus Admin/Team Leading (Level 3-5): £28k - £33k
• Cyber: £40k - £50k
• Data: £40k - £50k
• Digital Marketing: £35k - £40k
• Early Years (Level 2-5): £26k - £33k
• Electrical & Gas: £35k - £45k
• Engineering: £35k - £45k
• Functional Skills: £28k - £32k
• Health & Social Care (Level 3-5): £28k - £35k
• Hospitality (Level 3-5): £28k - £33k
• Housing & Property Management: £35k - £40k
• Leadership & Management Coaches (Level 3): £30k - £33k
• Leadership & Management Coaches (Level 5): £33k - £40k
• Leadership & Management Coaches (Level 7): £40k - £45k
• Network Infrastructure: £35k - £40k
• Project Management: £40k - £45k
• Retail (Level 3-5): £28k - £33k
• Software: £40k - £50k

Business Development

• Business Development/Employer Engagement: £30k - £35k + commission
• Sales Management: £50k - £65k + commission
• Senior Business Development/Employer Engagement: £35k - £45k + commission

Curriculum and Quality Management

• Curriculum Managers: £40k - £50k
• Head of Compliance/MI: £50k - £60k
• IQAs: £35k - £40k
• Quality & Compliance Managers: £40k - £45k

Data, Funding and Compliance

• Data, Funding & Compliance Coordinator / Officer: £28k - £32k
• Data, Funding & Compliance Manager: £37k - £45k

National Skills Agency: Your Recruitment Partner

The National Skills Agency specialises in recruiting for the Apprenticeship, Training, and Awarding marketplace. Since 2017, we have supported various employers, training providers, and awarding bodies. We offer very competitive rates with no retainers, and our fees are only due upon successful placements.

Our specialist recruiters have great market knowledge and a truly consultative approach allowing them to build strong long term relationships which really get under the skin of the hiring organisation and ensure that only the most suitable candidates are entered into the process.

Our Areas of Specialism include:

• Apprenticeship Management
• Business Development
• Trainers, Assessors, Coaches, Lecturers, Tutors, IQAs
• Operations
• Curriculum Management
• Qualification Development
• Project & Programme Management
• MIS / Compliance / Data / Funding / Quality Management

Conclusion

The Apprenticeship, Training, and Awarding sector plays a crucial role in addressing the UK's skills shortages. By implementing effective recruitment and retention strategies, organisations can attract and keep the best talent, ensuring long-term success and a positive impact on the economy and ensuring the best possible learner experience..

Contact Us

If you wish to explore how the National Skills Agency can assist with your recruitment needs, please reach out for an informal chat:

Spencer Mehlman
Managing Director
National Skills Agency
Phone: 020 3953 1984
Mobile: 07775 805714
Email: spencer@nationalskillsagency.co.uk

What are the key skills and behaviours that make a good apprenticeship coach/assessor?

*Subject Matter Expertise: Deep understanding of the industry and the specific skills being taught.

*Effective Communication Skills: Ability to clearly convey information, provide feedback, and listen actively.

*Patience and Empathy: Understanding the challenges faced by apprentices and providing support accordingly.

*Adaptability: Flexibility to adjust teaching methods based on individual learning styles and needs.

*Organisational Skills: Managing schedules, paperwork, and assessments efficiently.

*Critical Thinking: Analysing apprentices' performance and identifying areas for improvement.

*Motivational Skills: Encouraging apprentices to stay engaged and motivated throughout their training.

*Problem-Solving Abilities: Addressing issues that arise during the apprenticeship journey.

*Ethical Conduct: Upholding professional standards and maintaining confidentiality.

*Tech Savvy: Comfortable using digital tools for teaching, assessment, and communication.

*Collaborative Spirit: Working closely with employers, colleagues, and apprenticeship providers for a holistic approach.

*Continuous Learning: Staying updated with industry trends, teaching methodologies, and assessment techniques.

*Cultural Sensitivity: Respecting diversity and creating an inclusive learning environment.

*Positive Attitude: Fostering a supportive and encouraging atmosphere for apprentices to thrive.

This list shows the breath of skills and behaviours needed to contribute to creating a positive learning experience for apprentices in their journey towards mastering their chosen field.

If you are looking for a new role as an Assessor, Coach, Trainer, etc reach out to National Skills Agency on 020 3953 1984 CV’s to: info@nationalskillsagency.co.uk

#assessor #trainer #apprenticeships

Crafting a compelling CV as an assessor, coach, or trainer requires highlighting your skills, experience, and achievements relevant to the role.

Here are ten top tips to help you create a standout CV:

1.Tailor your CV to the job: Review the job description carefully and customise your CV to match the requirements of the specific role you're applying for. Highlight relevant skills, qualifications, and experience that align with the job description.

2.Highlight your qualifications: Showcase any relevant qualifications, certifications, or accreditations you hold, such as NVQ Assessor Awards, coaching certifications, or teaching qualifications like PTLLS.

3.Emphasise your experience: Provide a detailed overview of your professional experience as an assessor, coach, or trainer. Include information about the types of learners you've worked with, industries you're familiar with, and specific assessment or coaching methodologies you've utilised.

4.Quantify your achievements: Where possible, quantify your achievements to demonstrate the impact you've made in previous roles. For example, highlight improvements in learner performance, completion rates, or successful coaching outcomes.

5.Demonstrate soft skills: In addition to technical skills, emphasise soft skills such as communication, interpersonal skills, adaptability, and problem-solving abilities. These are essential for effectively engaging with learners and colleagues.

6.Include relevant keywords: Use industry-specific keywords and terminology throughout your CV to ensure it's picked up by applicant tracking systems (ATS) and resonates with hiring managers. This could include terms related to assessment methods, qualifications, or training techniques.

7.Provide examples of successful projects: Describe any notable projects or initiatives you've led or been involved in, highlighting your role, the challenges you faced, and the outcomes achieved.

8.Showcase your IT skills: As technology plays an increasingly significant role in education and training, highlight your proficiency with relevant software, learning management systems (LMS), and digital assessment tools.

9.Include relevant CPD activities: Continuing Professional Development (CPD) is vital in education and training roles. Outline any relevant workshops, seminars, conferences, or courses you've attended to enhance your skills and knowledge in the field.

10.Ensure clarity and professionalism: Finally, ensure your CV is well-structured, easy to read, and free from errors. Use clear headings, bullet points, and a professional format. Double-check for spelling and grammar mistakes and consider having a trusted colleague or mentor review your CV before sending it out.

We welcome your CV and hopefully we can help you on the next part of your career journey.

The National Skills Agency is the UK’s specialist recruiter for the Apprenticeship, Awarding & Training marketplace.

CV’s to: info@nationalskillsagency.co.uk

When hiring trainers and assessors for seamless, high-quality training delivery, training providers should prioritise the following six aspects:

1.      Qualifications and Expertise: Ensure that candidates possess the necessary qualifications and expertise relevant to the training programs being offered. Look for individuals with a strong educational background, industry certifications, and practical experience in the subject matter.

2.     Teaching and Facilitation Skills: Evaluate candidates' ability to effectively convey information and engage learners. Look for individuals with excellent communication skills, the ability to adapt teaching methods to different learning styles, and experience in facilitating interactive and engaging training sessions. Conducting a microteach at 2^nd interview stage is often very beneficial.

3.      Assessment Skills: Assessors play a crucial role in evaluating learners' competency and providing constructive feedback. Look for candidates with experience in designing and conducting assessments, as well as the ability to provide fair and accurate evaluations that align with regulatory requirements and industry standards.

4.      Commitment to Continuous Improvement: Seek candidates who demonstrate a commitment to ongoing professional development and improvement. Look for individuals who stay updated on industry trends, attend relevant training workshops or conferences, and actively seek feedback to enhance their skills as trainers and assessors.

5.      Adherence to Quality Standards: Ensure that candidates are familiar with and committed to upholding quality standards and regulatory requirements relevant to the training & apprenticeship sector. Look for individuals who prioritise compliance, accuracy, and ethical conduct in their work.

6.      Cultural Fit and Values Alignment: Consider candidates' fit with the organisational culture and values of the training provider. Look for individuals who share your commitment to excellence, integrity, and learner success, and who will contribute positively to the overall training environment. This is often an area that doesn’t get enough visibility but is crucial to ensuring a good hire!

By focusing on these key aspects when hiring trainers and assessors, training providers can build a team of dedicated professionals who are equipped to deliver high-quality training experiences and drive positive outcomes for learners.

To explore things further feel free to reach out to www.nationalskillsagency.co.uk or call 020 3953 1984

Hiring the right Business Developer / Employer Engager can make all the difference for your company's growth and success. But how do you know what to look for? Everyone has their own version of what "good" looks like. Here are some key things to consider when interviewing potential candidates:

- Do they ask a lot of questions?

- Are they actively listening to understand needs and adapting their responses to showcase their strengths?

- Have they done enough research and understand the business?

- Can they confidently talk through their work history and targets, with a real grasp of the numbers?

- Are they a team player with a positive mindset?

It's important to take the time to find the right fit for your team and business. At the National Skills Agency, we specialise in placing a range of key staff including Business Developers and Employer Engagement professionals into training providers and awarding bodies.

If you're interested in learning more, reach out for an informal chat. Let's

get it right together! Spencer@nationalskillsagency.co.uk

020 3953 1984 #BusinessDevelopment #EmployerEngagement

#NationalSkillsAgency