You may remember earlier in the year, we shared details of the UK’s first Audiovisual Technology Degree and the development of the new Audiovisual Technician Higher Apprenticeship.

Middlesborough College is the leading training provider for audiovisual technology at a national level. The college is offering a part-time, online training programme for Audiovisual Technician apprentices which is validated by The Open University.

To give you an idea on how to employ an Audiovisual Technician apprentice or how to put an existing staff member through the Apprenticeship Scheme, here is the link to the archived recording.

Jack Laidlaw from Middlesborough College has given the following new updates:

Funding:

We now have an updated timeline on the funding band decision from the IFA:

• Early July: notification of the recommended maximum funding amount which will be made to the government (I will let you all know what the recommendation is)
• Late July/Early August: funding recommendation officially made to government by IFA
• August: government approval of funding band and the apprenticeship standard is available for use (this bit is dependent upon the accountable government minister, but this is the advised timeline providing there are no objections).

Whilst we do not yet know what the funding band recommendation will be, I can tell you that we have decided to pitch the cost of the training for the Level 5 Audiovisual Technician apprenticeship at £8000 per year: £16,000 in total over 24 months. If this needs to be adjusted based on the funding band decision, it will be. It will not be increased, but may decrease if it is necessary. There is information on funding apprenticeships here.

As you are probably aware, it will be a part-time, online, Foundation Degree in Audiovisual Technology (validated by the Open University) to train apprentices.

Expression of Interest:

To assist with planning for September onwards please could you use this form to register an expression of interest in placing one or more apprentices with Middlesborough College in the upcoming academic year. There is no commitment involved at this stage, financial or otherwise.
.
Resources:

We are finalising our plans for the allocation of resources for the training element of the AV apprenticeship. As many of you know, apprentices need access to specific equipment via the workplace which is a condition of them enrolling onto the online training course.

There are also a number of software applications for which apprentices need their own licenses (and possibly a couple of specific physical adapters, included in the survey). The survey is designed to review the situation across most employers in terms of licenses already held and the budget availability (or otherwise) to pay for them for each apprentice. It’s a very short survey and requires only a few multiple-choice responses. I will use your responses to allocate funding to the areas where it is most needed. We are hoping we will be able to plug any common gaps. It is possible that each apprentice will need a bespoke solution (and we would discuss this during enrolment) but this should help us to develop a baseline from which to start.

If you have time, please complete the survey regardless of whether you plan to recruit an apprentice in the immediate future.

If you think you may take on an apprentice at any time in the future, I’d love to get your feedback. Thanks!