Each year the Federation carries out an annual, online survey of its key customers, to collect their views on a number of issues, such as the operational performance of its online certification systems, ACE, ACW and MAO and its newest platform, ACE360, an online End Point Assessment platform. Users are specifically asked to rate their experiences of the support and guidance that they get from both the Federation and individual Certification Bodies.

A summary report of the findings from the 2022 survey can be accessed here.

Thanks to everyone who took part in the survey and for your valuable feedback.

The Scottish Government announced £10 million for a range of measures to recruit and retain Apprentices. This targeted funding will help Modern and Graduate Apprentices, who are facing redundancy, get back into work. This includes additional funding for Scotland’s “Adopt an Apprentice” programme which has recently been enhanced from £2,000 to £5,000. This incentive is for an employer who is willing to take on a redundant Modern or Graduate Apprentice. Further information on Adopt an Apprentice can be accessed here: –https://www.ourskillsforce.co.uk/invest-in-young-people/adopt-an- Apprentice/
 

The Cabinet Secretary for Economy, Fair Work and Culture announced £60 million for Scotland’s Young Person’s Guarantee, giving all young people aged 16 to 24 access to work, training or education, which Apprenticeships will be integral to. On 5 November, the Economy Secretary officially launched the Young Person’s Guarantee and further information can be accessed here: – https://www.myworldofwork.co.uk/youngpersonsguarantee
 

As part of the Young Person’s Guarantee, £10 million of funding is towards the development of Pathways to Apprenticeships which is aimed at responding to an expected gap between young people being available for work and when employers start to recruit again. Skills Development Scotland (SDS) have worked with colleges, training providers and other partners to design Pathway Apprenticeships to provide work-based learning opportunities for young people to get industry-recognised qualifications and to develop the skills employers require.
 

Further advice and guidance can be accessed on the website My World of Work, including skills tools and employment support. SDS also launched an Online Learning Portal connecting people with free-to- access online learning materials.
 

Any Apprentices who find themselves facing redundancy can be supported through the well-established Partnership for Continuing Employment (PACE) service and SDS also operate a helpline for employers and learners. This includes dedicated careers and Apprenticeship advice, signposting to well-being resources and practical information on Apprenticeships.

SDS also frequently update their website with the latest support and advice for Apprentices, employers and learning providers, including FAQs. This support can be accessed here: – https://www.skillsdevelopmentscotland.co.uk/coronavirus-covid-19/
 

Providing a high-quality and efficient service for our customers is at the forefront of everything that we do in the Federation – especially during these challenging times. We are all having to do things differently, and it’s very likely that we all need to adjust to new ways of working.
 

With this in mind, we wanted to let you know about the interim measures that we have put in place to support training providers. We need to ensure that you -on behalf of your Apprentices- are still able to submit a claim for an Apprenticeship certificate, and receive confirmation that completion has been successfully approved.
 

All of our Sector Bodies have business continuity plans in place, and are continuing to process Apprenticeship certification claims submitted via our online certification system.  However, the batch printing and dispatching of actual certificates has already become a challenge for many of our partners, and this will probably become increasingly problematic over the coming weeks.
 

We want to reassure you – the Federation has been working in partnership with relevant governmental departments and has taken the appropriate steps to address this issue.
 

The plan calls for Sector Bodies to continue processing certification claims in the usual manner and -if everything is in order- to change the Apprentice’s status to “Approved”.
 

At that point, the system will automatically send out an Apprenticeship Achievement Confirmation notification to the relevant Centre.  This e-mail will confirm the date of Achievement Approval, and will contain all the relevant Apprentice data – including details of the Apprenticeship achieved.
 

Finally, a copy of the Apprentice Achievement notification will be sent out to the specific system user submitting the certification claim, as well as the Centre Admin User account.
 

In the interim, you can use the e-mail notification system to confirm Apprenticeship Achievement with the individual Apprentice, their Employer, and relevant Funding Bodies etc.
 

All printed certificates will be generated and dispatched once business operations are able to return to normal.
 

We plan to implement this new process early next week, and will be sending out further notifications to confirm when it is operational.
 

Should you have any further questions or require additional support, please make sure to contact your relevant Sector Body.  A full list of Sector Body contacts can be found here.
 

You can also contact the Federation for Industry Sector Skills and Standards directly via our e-mail by calling 0300 303 4444 then option 2.
 

We want to offer this interim certification confirmation facility, as an alternative and flexible solution in cases where the printing of certificates is not going to be possible. We hope that this will help both you and your Apprentices, by enabling you to receive confirmation of their Apprenticeship Achievement.
 

Thank you for your continued support and cooperation during this incredibly challenging time – rest assured that we, and our members, are here to help you.
 

The Instructus office is closed today for a staff event. Phone calls and emails will not be answered today. It will be re-opening as normal on Monday 30th September at 9am and they will respond to your queries then.

Following an increase in related queries we have provided some guidance and clarity around the Employer Details recorded as part of an apprenticeship claim.
 

An Apprentice must be employed and the name and address of their employer must be entered into MAOnline. There must also be a specific named contact at the Apprentice’s place of employment. This cannot be the Apprentice themselves or a contact at the Training Provider, except where the Training Provider is also the Apprentice’s employer.
 

The Employer contact name must be the name of the person who has taken responsibility for the Apprentice in the workplace and provided the required support, guidance and mentoring throughout the Apprenticeship. It cannot be another Apprentice who is currently studying at the same level. It can be a previous/current Apprentice as long as they are already qualified in the same discipline and at a higher level, than the Apprentice they are mentoring.
 

Alternatively, it can be an employee who has the relevant occupational competence and greater levels of skills, knowledge and experience than those they are mentoring. The employer contact name must be given in full and not abbreviated. Please provide all the relevant contact details for the employer, including a valid email address where possible.
 

If you have any questions relating to this then please let us know via maonline@fisss.org or by calling 0300 303 4444.

In December 2017, we updated the latest version of the Acceptable Evidence Guidance for MAO. Since then we have made the following changes:
 

Changes to existing pages:
 

SQA: we have updated the evidence to include screenshots and reports from their updated online systems as well as new unacceptable examples.
 

EAL: we have added newly branded acceptable certificates.
 

If you have any questions relating to this issue then please contact the MAO support team via maonline@fisss.org or by calling 0300 303 4444.
 

The Tech Partnership will be closing in September 2018 and Instructus will be taking over these apprenticeship certification responsibilities.

For further information please see the following –

https://www.thetechpartnership.com/about/legacy-transition-plans/

https://www.instructus-skills.org/instructus-tech-partnership-certification-apprenticeship/

If you have any questions relating to this issue then please contact the MAO support team via maonline@fisss.org or by calling 0300 303 4444.
 

With GDPR legislation coming into effect from 25^th May onwards we have updated our Terms and Conditions and our Data Use and Management Policy to be ahead of the changes in law, however our attitude to your data and it’s security has not changed.
 

• We will protect your data securely and it will only be used by us for the service we provide.
• We will not sell or give it to a third party for them to use.
• You can ask to have a look at the information we hold and if there is a mistake we will correct it.
• You can ask for your data to be erased and you can ask for it not to be used for research.
• You can read our data use and data management policy by clicking here fisss.org to see the full details

We keep your personal information private and safe – and put you in control.
 

If you would like further information please let us know at maonline@fiss.org
 

The FISSS offices will be closing on Friday 22^nd Dec 2017 and reopening on Tuesday 2^nd Jan 2018. During this period the MAO system will be available for you to load/amend apprentice records, however we will be unable to provide any additional system support. We will endeavour to resolve any outstanding queries upon our return.
 

In September 2017, we updated the latest version of the Acceptable Evidence Guidance for MAO. Since then we have made the following changes:
 

Changes to Existing Pages

City & Guilds: we have amended the minimum requirements on the Walled Garden report.

Pearson:  we have added a new certificate to reflect the GCSE English and Maths numeric grading and a Core Skill Confirmation Report and an unacceptable screenshot.

SQA: we have added a SQA Connect Candidate Services printout. and a SQA Connect Core Skills Printout.
 

If you have any further questions relating to this issue then please contact the MAO Support Team via maonline@fisss.org or by calling 0300 303 4444.