Juice Talent Development Limited

Juice Talent Development Limited Monitoring visit report

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Name of lead inspector: Steve Stanley, Her Majesty’s Inspector

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Type of provider: Independent learning provider

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Address: 3 River Road Caversham Reading RG4 7EH Monitoring visit: Juice Talent Development Limited 25–26 September 2019

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Context and focus of visit

From October 2018, Ofsted undertook to carry out monitoring visits to all newly directly funded providers of apprenticeship training provision which began to be funded from April 2017 or after by the Education and Skills Funding Agency and/or the apprenticeship levy. This monitoring visit was undertaken as part of those arrangements and as outlined in the ‘Further education and skills inspection handbook’, especially the sections entitled ‘Monitoring visits’ and ‘Monitoring visits to providers that are newly directly publicly funded’. The focus of these visits is on the themes set out below.

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Context and focus of visit

Juice Talent Development Limited (JTD) prepares apprentices to work in recruitment. It has held a contract since August 2017 to train levy-funded apprentices. At the time of the inspection, 195 adults were on apprenticeship standards. Of these, 21 were on a level 2 recruitment apprenticeship programme. The rest were on level 3 apprenticeship programmes. This included 77 on a recruitment consultant programme, 92 on a team leader programme and five on a management programme. A fifth of apprentices were on level 2 functional skills courses provided through a subcontractor.

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Reasonable progress

Leaders have a clear strategic intention to improve recruitment practices. They have a strong understanding of the knowledge and skills needed to be an effective recruiter. The planning of the curriculum helps apprentices to grasp key knowledge at the right time and apply it in their work. Leaders and trainer assessors make sure the curriculum links well to employers’ needs. Leaders scrutinise sufficiently, through monthly reporting, the performance of their subcontracted provision. They work closely with an external partner to develop their strategy for their curriculum.

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Reasonable progress

Apprentices are clear why they are on their apprenticeship programmes, which is to improve their abilities and career prospects. They start on the right level for their knowledge and skills. Apprentices know their entitlement and their responsibilities. They are well informed about the apprenticeship content when they start. They are clear about the order in which they will develop their knowledge and skills, and how these relate to their work.

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Reasonable progress

Leaders at all levels ensure that the curriculum links accurately to the apprenticeship standards. They keep up to date with the changing needs of the industry. Most Monitoring visit: Juice Talent Development Limited 25–26 September 2019 employers ensure that apprentices receive enough off-the-job learning time. On occasions when this does not happen, trainer assessors take appropriate action. Trainer assessors have a wide breadth of knowledge and experience in recruitment practice. Employers are clear about the value and support that JTD staff bring to training their workforce. Apprentices are right to say that trainer assessors help them become more effective practitioners.

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Reasonable progress

Leaders do not have a sufficiently clear overview of how well trainer assessors teach the curriculum. They had to address a delay that a small minority of apprentices experienced in achieving their qualification. Leaders have recently appointed a member of staff to assure quality, and the oversight of the provision is improving.

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Reasonable progress

Apprentices gain the right knowledge, skills and behaviours for their work. They are aware of the importance of ethics when recruiting. They know the proper protocols to use when assessing applications, such as how to treat applicants fairly. Apprentices understand the importance of British values. Trainer assessors help apprentices to apply well the theory of how to manage their time and workload. Trainer assessors make sure that the topics for each aspect of the curriculum match employers’ expectations.

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Reasonable progress

Apprentices gain useful knowledge from a wide range of online courses on a system set up by leaders. These online courses complement the training by trainer assessors. For example, they learn important recruiting skills in how to build working relationships. They expand their knowledge of business, such as sales and profit, which is beyond the standards required by the apprenticeship. Trainer assessors check apprentices’ answers online. Where apprentices’ answers are wrong, they help them to understand the reasons why.

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Reasonable progress

Trainer assessors are adept at supporting apprentices. Consequently, apprentices build on their knowledge over time and gain confidence in their practice. Trainer assessors give frequent feedback on their knowledge gains and deficits. They prepare apprentices well for the assessment of their knowledge and skills at the end of their apprenticeship.

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Reasonable progress

Tutors keep a close eye on how well apprentices who need to gain English and mathematical qualifications are doing. As a result, apprentices stay on track for achieving their qualifications. Trainer assessors, however, do not check sufficiently the development of apprentices’ English skills in their writing.

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Reasonable progress

In a few cases, trainer assessors do not use information on what apprentices know and can do at the start of their programme. They do not help those apprentices who Monitoring visit: Juice Talent Development Limited 25–26 September 2019 have existing recruitment knowledge to push them to a higher level of knowledge and skills.

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Reasonable progress

Senior leaders have put in place suitable arrangements to keep their apprentices safe. They work with a national agency on safeguarding to improve their practice. They are improving their central systems for safeguarding. They check their trainer assessors for their suitability to work with their adult apprentices. Apprentices feel safe and know whom to go to if they have concerns. Staff have completed a range of informative training to grow the team’s awareness of safeguarding. This includes training on the ‘Prevent’ duty and forced marriage.

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Reasonable progress

Trainer assessors check that apprentices are well and safe in reviews of their progress. They carry out employer health and safety checks with apprentices. They help apprentices to gain a good awareness of safeguarding at the start of their apprenticeships. They learn, for example, the dangers of radicalisation and extremism. A few apprentices, further on in their programmes, have a patchy recollection of such matters. Monitoring visit: Juice Talent Development Limited 25–26 September 2019 regulates and inspects to 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

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Reasonable progress

children’s services, and inspects services for children looked after, safeguarding and child protection.

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Reasonable progress

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Reasonable progress

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Reasonable progress

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T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/ofsted

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