COVID-19 FAQs for apprentices

Make sure you have informed your employer of this and your programme leader. The options available include:

• If you are feeling well, you can continue to study as the University has replaced all face to face delivery with online learning. All the necessary learning materials will be on your Canvas module sites. This may include on-line lectures and seminars, as well as pre-recorded lectures and notes. Live discussions and seminars may be provided through Microsoft Teams as this is integrated with Canvas.
• If you are unwell then you may request a short pause in your apprenticeship. This must not exceed four weeks. Your planned end date will remain unchanged. This must be discussed with your programme leader. You may discuss with your module leader how you will catch up on the learning you have missed in this time period.
• If you require a period that exceeds four weeks away from your learning, then you must inform the University and your employer. The University will notify the regulatory agency for apprenticeships, the ESFA. This is known as a break-in-learning, and it will mean that there will be a revised end date for your apprenticeship.

You can find information on wellbeing and support from the University here, including guidance on how to look after yourself when studying at home.

You can continue to learn as the University has moved completely to on-line learning. Your module leader will advise you of changes to any planned teaching you were supposed to have on the module site on Canvas. If your personal circumstances are impacting your ability to engage with your studies, you can speak with your employer liaison tutor or your programme leader who will be happy to listen and advise.

All planned assessments have been evaluated by module teams to see what can go ahead unchanged by using technology, and what may have to change. For example, an individual or group presentation may still go ahead, but in a remote format. Alternatively, the presentation may be substituted by a different form of assessment. Unless it is a professional body requirement, all planned examinations must be converted to alternative forms of coursework assessment, ensuring that the learning outcomes can still be assessed. Your module leader will advise you about any changes to the assessment. Please check your Canvas sites for more information.

Absolutely; your assignment marks and module grades will still be available to you through Studynet and your Canvas module sites. Given the exceptional circumstances, the University has introduced a safety net policy whereby your recent attainment will be taken into account when determining your Semester B performance. If you have any questions about how this will work, contact your programme leader and check the latest University information found here.

Please be assured that the safety net policy applies to apprentices as well as students.

Please continue to record your ‘off the job’ learning activity as previously advised by your programme leader. This may be an opportunity to catch up or refocus on some of your ‘off the job’ learning (reading, engaging in a wider range of on-line resources), in preparation for forthcoming assessments.

Yes, while you remain on your apprenticeship you are required to fulfil the 20% off the job learning requirement.  Working in different ways or on emergency projects associated with maintaining ‘business as usual’ during Covid-19, might acquire the skills and knowledge needed for your apprenticeship, alongside your formal off the job learning which is met through studying on modules.

If you have been asked to work in a different area than you normally do, then the expectation is that you would continue to record all learning opportunities, if applicable to your role. However, if this is not possible because your role has changed and you have to focus solely on the job, then you may need to consider having a break-in-learning.

Yes, it is of vital importance that you continue to feel supported by both the University and your employer throughout the apprenticeship, even at this difficult time. Your employer liaison tutor can arrange remote meetings with you and your employer, using Microsoft Teams or another similar channel. It is important your progress is monitored during this period, so you should prepare for these in the usual way.

If you are at Gateway or due to undertake the End Point Assessment (EPA) during this period, there needs to be discussion with the University, the employer and the EPA organisation. We are working proactively to ensure that those of you nearing EPA, can complete as planned and on time.  Modifications to the assessment format are permitted but cannot be substituted. For example, portfolios can be assessed remotely, and professional discussions can take place over Microsoft Teams or another similar channel, to enable you to continue with your preparations for EPA. Programme leaders will be in touch with you if you are nearing EPA to ensure you are properly supported.

We are working proactively to ensure that those of you nearing EPA, can complete as planned and on time.  Please let your programme leader know of your progression plans and we will work to support you as best we can.

• You can speak with your employer liaison tutor or your programme leader at any point in your apprenticeship, who will be happy to listen and advise.
• The Government advice for apprentices, employers, training providers and the EPA organisation is updated regularly.
• The Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education has a Covid-19 Information Hub which is updated regularly and has sections for apprentices and employers.

The term furlough refers to an employee who has had to take a leave of absence from their job, due to economic conditions affecting their employer. The UK Government recently announced plans to help companies severely affected by COVID-19, under the Job Retention Scheme. Some companies can furlough employees but still pay them a wage through the financial assistance offered by the Government. This provides employers with another option when reviewing the circumstances of their business.

The Government are covering 80% of salary costs up to £2500 per month for employers who use the scheme, and some employers will make up the remaining 20% so that furloughed workers still receive full pay.

• Employers must make use of the Job Retention Scheme to ensure that apprentices are paid at least the national minimum apprenticeship wage for any time spent on training, in order for the apprentice to continue with their training whilst furloughed.
• The University is committed to helping you remain on your apprenticeship programme for as long as possible. We are taking decisions about this on a programme-by-programme basis.
• Our decisions are influenced by the planned learning for the period of furlough (or a fixed term as the furlough length may not be specified) and the extent to which it can be achieved without access to work based learning or employer support. The University will work with your employer to ensure that you have as much access, as can be agreed, to ongoing learning and support from your workplace during a period of furlough, but this is ultimately up to your employer.
• If you cannot meet the learning required for your programme during furlough, due to a lack of access to employer systems or data, or you were scheduled to be in placements which have had to be delayed, we will look at whether you must take a break-in-learning.

If your ability to engage in your apprenticeship is disrupted for more than 4 weeks, the funding rules mean that your employer and/or the University (as your training provider), must report a formal break-in-learning. An apprentice can request a break-in-learning, and during these exceptional times by an employer or a training provider. If you are placed on a break-in-learning, then your apprenticeship is paused, and during that time you are not expected to engage in your studies or required to meet the minimum 20% off the job learning.

Where possible, we will encourage your employer to allow you to continue with your learning. If the business or service needs take precedence, then yes, your employer can enforce a break-in-learning.

• This will vary by programme, and also by when you and your employer are ready for you to resume your apprenticeship. The University may need to offer a restricted number of points when a programme can restart, for example at the beginning of a semester. There is no need to re-apply for your apprenticeship when you resume.
• Where breaks-in-learning are required, it is our goal that apprentices are able to promptly resume their apprenticeship and continue to successful completion of end-point assessment. During a break-in-learning, keep in touch with your Programme Leader and the team on degree-apprenticeships@herts.ac.uk so that they can advise how you can make a smooth restart to your apprenticeship.
• If you are on a fixed-term contract with your employer, this will have to be reviewed and if necessary extended to ensure that it is after beyond the new proposed end date of your apprenticeship, as this is a condition of funding.