Gi Group

Overall effectiveness Good

Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

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Overall effectiveness Good

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

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Overall effectiveness Good

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Good

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Overall effectiveness Good

Overall effectiveness at previous inspection Requires improvement

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This is a good provider

 The large majority of learners who successfully complete their apprenticeship gain permanent employment.  Retention has improved considerably since the previous inspection and is now high.  Senior leaders, including the company’s directors, have a clear strategy for and strong commitment to, the apprenticeship programme.  Apprentices develop very good vocational skills, which considerably improves their employability.  Trainers provide good individual support for learners for whom English is an additional language.  Managers’ monitoring of apprentices’ progress and of trainers’ performance is good.

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This is a good provider

 The proportion of apprentices who achieve the full apprenticeship framework is steadily increasing but it is not yet high.  Trainers and assessors provide insufficiently detailed and constructive written feedback on apprentices’ work.  Action planning following observation of training is insufficiently detailed and not closely monitored enough to ensure continued improvement.

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Information about the provider

 Gi Group is a recruitment business in its third year of funding from the Skills Funding Agency, and currently has approximately 350 apprentices. It provides short- and long-term temporary staff to several very large client companies. Gi Group employs the apprentices but almost all work for a range of client companies.  The apprenticeship programme is an essential element of the corporate social responsibility strategy of Gi Group. All apprentices study at level 2. Apprentices receive training in performing manufacturing operations, warehousing and storage and business administration. These programmes take place across the country in the manufacturing, logistics and recruitment industries. The apprenticeship programme is delivered through the company’s newly created department of employability, learning and skills.

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What does the provider need to do to improve further?

 Managers and trainers should ensure that achievement rates continue to improve; they should do this by continuing to monitor carefully apprentices’ progress and taking swift actions to identify and support those who are not progressing quickly enough or who are at risk of leaving early.  Trainers and assessors should provide evaluative written feedback on apprentices’ work that clearly identifies what apprentices have done well and what they need to do to improve.  Managers should further refine the observation of teaching and learning process by ensuring that detailed action plans following an observation are produced and carefully monitoring progress against these action plans so that trainers continue to improve their practice. Inspection Report: Gi Group 5–8 July 2016 Page 3 of 9

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is good

 Leaders have a clear strategy for, and strong commitment to, the apprenticeship programme. They are succeeding in their aim to enhance the confidence and skills of their employees so that they are better able to compete and thrive in the workplace. By so doing they are supporting the national and regional priority of increasing the number of employees undertaking apprenticeship training.  Managers have taken effective actions to tackle the areas for improvement identified at the last inspection. Few learners now leave the programme early. English and mathematics pass rates have increased, assessment practices have improved and trainers now monitor the progress of apprentices more closely.  Managers have improved the observation of teaching and learning process. The new training manager has ensured that the process is more rigorous and accurate. Recent observations have brought a more realistic evaluation of teaching and learning with a more accurate grade profile. However, managers

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is good

recognise that they could further improve the records of observations by ensuring that post-observation action plans are more specific and detailed to help trainers improve.  The self-assessment report accurately evaluates the key strengths and areas for improvement for the programme and managers closely monitor the quality improvement plan.  Managers, trainers and internal verifiers attend monthly quality improvement meetings. Managers use these meetings effectively to monitor key performance indicators and to provide training aimed at improving teaching and assessment.  Managers have improved performance management arrangements, including appraisals, since the previous inspection. They now monitor staff against key performance indicators. Any significant performance dips trigger interventions to support and challenge the trainer. This is leading to the eradication of poor performance.  Managers have provided additional resource to support trainers in delivering functional skills in addition to

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is good

targeted continuous professional development activities.  The apprenticeship programme promotes a culture of tolerance and inclusiveness among learners and trainers, and assessors promote diversity well in lessons and during reviews. Managers monitor gaps in the performance of different groups of apprentices, but they do not produce sufficiently detailed actions to close the gaps. Managers do not currently monitor the performance of cohorts specifically relevant to the industry, such as learners for whom English is an additional language.  The governance of the provider – The arrangements for providing oversight of the apprenticeship provision are sound. The executive management team and senior managers receive regular reports and updates about the performance of the apprenticeship programme, which they carefully scrutinise. – The executive management team and senior managers supported the development of the company’s

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is good

employability, skills and learning division and have provided additional staffing and resources to ensure that it can meet apprentices’ needs. – An executive board member meets weekly with the head of the employability, skills and learning division and provides appropriate scrutiny and challenge.  The arrangements for safeguarding are effective – Learners feel safe and know whom to contact if they feel vulnerable or threatened. Managers promote safeguarding well by ensuring that all relevant staff receive appropriate recruitment checks. – Two senior staff are the company’s designated safeguarding officers. They have received training commensurate with the role and deal effectively and promptly with the small number of cases referred to them. – Tutors promote safe work practices very well. Company staff carry out assessments of health and safety in the learner’s workplace. Learners’ understanding of health and safety is good.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is good

– Managers have developed an appropriate strategy to meet the company’s obligations under the government’s initiative for protecting learners from radicalisation and extremism. Trainers and assessors have a basic awareness of how to keep learners safe from these risks. However, their promotion of British values through training and assessment practice is good. Inspection Report: Gi Group 5–8 July 2016 Page 4 of 9

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment is good

 Gi’s trainers and assessors plan apprentices’ learning well to meet fully all of the apprenticeship requirements in a challenging environment. They provide a clear structure and suitable resources for the provision of teaching, learning and assessment, which very effectively meets the needs of employers and learners. Learners understand clearly the company’s ‘path to success’ for apprentices and the milestones they have to achieve.  Trainers and assessors place a very strong emphasis on tracking and monitoring learners’ progress. Quality improvement staff make good use of a progress tracker and a comprehensive internal verification process to monitor performance weekly and monthly. Quality improvement staff monitor all aspects of trainers’ work, including through setting and measuring the achievement of challenging targets. This has had a positive impact on raising achievement rates and on the proportion of apprentices who complete

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment is good

within the planned period.  Teaching and assessment is well co-ordinated so that apprentices receive sufficient timely and flexible support to ensure that they make good progress. Gi Group deploy staff on clients’ sites, where they provide responsive and timely support to apprentices, and work well with clients to coordinate learning successfully.  Apprentices acquire valuable vocational knowledge and skills and increase their employability and value to employers. In particular, they develop a robust knowledge of health and safety, as well as knowledge of food manufacture, the safe use of machinery and handling deliveries. In one workplace, apprentices benefit from the opportunity to undertake additional training and become accredited to work within industrial cold storage facilities.  Trainers are experienced and qualified in commerce and industry and are effective in communicating technical subjects to apprentices. All have a relevant teaching and training qualification or are working

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment is good

towards one. Gi Group trainers work well to support apprentices. They give effective individual guidance to less-able learners and offer good pastoral support to help them overcome specific personal barriers to learning.  Trainers promote equality and diversity well in group sessions. They skilfully integrate key topics such as diversity, equal opportunities and British values with vocational subjects. For example, one trainer used the declaration of human rights as a reading exercise in an English class where apprentices then reinforced their understanding during a lively discussion. Apprentices from diverse cultures and backgrounds discuss and debate their differences, including, for instance, differences in the application of health and safety regulations and working practices in other countries.  Advice and guidance and initial assessment provided by Gi staff effectively ensure that they place

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment is good

apprentices onto an appropriate programme that matches their aspirations and work needs. Trainers working on site at clients’ premises provide very helpful information and advice to help learners gain permanent positions or promotion.  Apprentices’ starting points are accurately established. Apprentices, many of whom speak English as an additional language, receive comprehensive support to meet their mathematics and English learning needs. They receive clear initial guidance, online initial assessments, specialist tutoring and one-to-one coaching. Trainers encourage apprentices to further their learning and achievement in English and mathematics, particularly for those able to move up to a higher level of qualification.  During reviews, trainers very effectively reinforce apprentices’ awareness of equality and diversity, safeguarding, internet safety and the risks of radicalisation and extremism. Apprentices’ recall of most of

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment is good

these topics following their initial induction learning is weak, but later improves when they begin to receive coaching, assessment and review.  Trainers manage assessment well and they ensure that apprentices meet the required level of competence. Trainers set out clearly for apprentices an assessment plan which includes a suitable range of assessment methods. They give apprentices good verbal feedback, although they do not give sufficiently detailed written feedback on how apprentices could extend their knowledge and skills or to alert them to errors in their written English.  Trainers comprehensively and frequently check apprentices’ progress and they motivate them well by providing additional support and setting suitably challenging goals. Trainers help apprentices to take responsibility for their progress by discussing all aspects of the apprenticeship framework with them and following up on the non-completion of online work for English and mathematics and workplace

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment is good

assessments.  Trainers do not always use initial assessment information on apprentices’ English and mathematics well to plan teaching so that it matches learners’ individual needs. For example, in workplaces with large numbers of apprentices, classes for English are not organised according to ability levels and some apprentices find the sessions too difficult. Inspection Report: Gi Group 5–8 July 2016 Page 5 of 9

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Personal development, behaviour and welfare is good

 Gi Group provides apprenticeship opportunities for its workforce of temporary agency staff, the large majority of whom join the company with few or no formal qualifications and often have a work history comprising part-time, insecure and low-paid work. However, those who choose to follow the company’s apprenticeship programme become highly motivated to succeed and to achieve challenging personal and work goals.  Gi Group trainers provide good-quality advice and guidance for current and prospective learners to help them decide whether they want to follow an apprenticeship programme. Learners receive initial assessment before they begin their programme to ensure that they are on a course that meets their needs and career aspirations. They understand the reasons for their choice of learning programme and most have a clear understanding of the options available to them when they complete their studies.

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Personal development, behaviour and welfare is good

 Learners are very well prepared for employment. Learners develop increased confidence and take responsibility for their own learning. Almost all those who successfully complete the programme remain in employment with Gi Group and achieve the status of permanent staff with improved job security and full entitlement to paid holidays and sick pay. Most learners who leave the programme early go on to employment in a similar sector, often having achieved individual NVQ units or functional skills qualifications in English and mathematics.  Data provided by Gi managers indicate that the average length of employment for staff on an agency contract who are not on an apprenticeship programme is 19 weeks, compared with 18 months for those who choose to study an apprenticeship. This shows that agency workers who follow an apprenticeship are more likely to benefit from long-term secure employment than those who choose not to do so.

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Personal development, behaviour and welfare is good

 Apprentices develop good vocational skills, which improves their employability and which contributes to the success of their employers’ business. Many are able to work independently in a wide range of work settings such as manufacturing, warehousing, pharmaceuticals and business administration.  Overall attendance is good. Trainers and assessors monitor attendance carefully. Attendance in functional skills sessions is good. A few clients are occasionally reluctant to release learners to attend meetings with their trainer or assessor.  Learners behave very well across the different apprenticeship areas. They show respect for each other and for their trainers in class and at work.  Gi Group managers place a high priority on keeping learners safe. Provider sites display a range of posters and notices warning learners of the dangers of grooming, internet bullying and modern slavery. Trainers and assessors have carried out good work promoting learners’ awareness of British values and

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Personal development, behaviour and welfare is good

helping them prepare for life in modern Britain. Gi Group managers have recently implemented an appropriate strategy for implementing the government’s ‘Prevent’ duty, but at the time of inspection, learners’ understanding of the dangers of radicalisation and extremism was limited.

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Outcomes for learners are good

 Outcomes for learners are good because almost all apprentices who complete their apprenticeship remain in employment with Gi Group or with other employers. Most learners who leave early without completing their apprenticeship progress to other employment, education or training. The proportion of apprentices who successfully achieve their qualification within the planned period has increased significantly since the last inspection.  Qualification achievement rates in functional skills in English and mathematics have improved significantly and are now good.  After completing their apprenticeship, the company employs most apprentices as permanent staff while others gain employment with the client company for whom they had been working as agency staff.  The standard of learners’ work is good. Learners develop a wide range of skills that help them to become more employable and which stand them in good stead for careers in warehousing, distribution and

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Outcomes for learners are good

administration.  Managers have taken swift actions since the previous inspection to increase the proportion of learners who stay to the end of the programme and as a consequence, the majority of learners in 2015/16 remained on programme until the end achieve.  Managers make good use of a range of tracking and monitoring tools to identify how well learners are progressing. They swiftly identify those at risk of leaving early or not completing and provide appropriate support to help them stay on the programme and achieve. As a result, the number of learners who have exceeded their planned period of study has declined significantly since the previous inspection. Current learners are making at least the progress expected of them. Inspection Report: Gi Group 5–8 July 2016 Page 6 of 9  Qualification achievement rates were low in 2014/15, as rightly acknowledged in the company’s self-

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Outcomes for learners are good

assessment report. In-year data for 2015/16 show that the proportion of apprentices who complete within the planned period is now good. No significant performance differences exist between groups of learners and managers deal swiftly with any identified disparities. Inspection Report: Gi Group 5–8 July 2016 Page 7 of 9

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full contract year

Principal/CEO Jess Watts Website address www.gigroup.com

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Intermediate Advanced Higher

16-18 19+ 16-18 19+ 16-18 19+ 29 323 0 0 0 0 Number of traineeships 16-19 19+ Total 0 0 0 Number of learners aged 14-16 0

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Intermediate Advanced Higher

Funding received from Skills Funding Agency (SFA)

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main subcontractors:

 None Inspection Report: Gi Group 5–8 July 2016 Page 8 of 9

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Inspection team

Jai Sharda, lead inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector William Baido-Ansah Her Majesty’s Inspector Ralph Brompton Ofsted Inspector Steve Sharpe Ofsted Inspector

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Inspection team

The above team was assisted by the head of employability, skills and learning, as nominee. Inspectors took account of the provider’s most recent self-assessment report and development plans, and the previous inspection report. Inspectors used group and individual interviews, telephone calls and online questionnaires to gather the views of students and employers; these views are reflected within the report. They observed learning sessions, assessments and progress reviews. The inspection took into account all relevant provision at the provider. guidance ‘Raising concerns and making complaints about Ofsted’, which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.ofsted.gov.uk . If you would like Ofsted to send you a copy of the guidance, please telephone 0300 123 4234 , or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk .

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Inspection team

achieve excellence in the care of children and young people, and in education and skills for learners of all ages. It regulates and inspects childcare and children’s social care, and inspects the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, further education and skills, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It assesses council children’s services, and inspects services for looked after children, safeguarding and child protection. If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 1231, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk . You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence , write to the Information Policy Team,

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Inspection team

The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

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Inspection team

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Inspection team

T: 0300 123 4234 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.ofsted.gov.uk Learner View is a website where learners can tell Ofsted what they think about their college or provider. They can also see what other learners think about them too.

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Inspection team

To find out more go to www.learnerview.ofsted.gov.uk .

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Inspection team

Employer View is a new website where employers can tell Ofsted what they think about their employees’ college or provider. They can also see what other employers think about them too.

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Inspection team

To find out more go to www.employerview.ofsted.gov.uk .

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