Off-the-job Hours
What is Off The Job Training?
Off The Job Training (OTJT) is defined as learning that is undertaken outside day-to-day work duties and contributes to the achievement of the apprenticeship. This training takes place within the apprentice's normal (contracted) working hours. The Off The Job Training must be directly relevant to the apprenticeship.
The OTJT provides the time for an apprentice to develop the required skills, knowledge, and behaviours to achieve the apprenticeship and become occupationally competent. To qualify for funding from the Department for Education, we must be able to evidence that each apprentice is spending at least 6 hours every working week over the course of the apprenticeship undertaking Off The Job Training.
What is the employer's responsibility with OTJT?
As the employer, you are required to allow your apprentice at least 6 hours (20% based on 30 hour standard working week) of their working time to be spent undertaking Off The Job Training. This is typically covered in the apprentice's university day release, however this varies in programmes, and some complete more than one day per week at university, such as if they do block release or have a professional minimum requirement to meet.
As the employer, you should also encourage work-based learning in the workplace to aid in the apprentice's development towards the required knowledge, skills and behaviours needed to become professionally competent and successfully complete their apprenticeship.
We may require your support in keeping your apprentice engaged and on track with their OTJT timesheet if they are being escalated due to non-compliance. The last thing we want to do is withdraw an apprentice, so we need your support to ensure apprentices understand the importance of keeping a record of their OTJT on their timesheet, and this should also be frequently discussed in progress review meetings.
The OTJT is a Gateway to Completion requirement, as the minimum hours must be met by the end of the practical period in order for the apprentice to sit their Apprenticeship Assessment. If the apprentice has not met the minimum OTJT requirement by this point, unfortunately they will not be eligible to sit their Apprenticeship Assessment and complete the apprenticeship, as this would put us at breach of Department for Education funding rules which could result in a full funding clawback.
Failure to sit the Apprenticeship Assessment comes with its own set of issues, including a negative impact on our success rates, as well as financial implications for both the University and you as the employer, as we will not receive the final 20% payment of the funding for each apprentice until they have sat their Apprenticeship Assessment.* Therefore, we aim to prevent any issues like this later down the line by ensuring apprentices remain on track throughout, and issues are raised early on and communicated with link tutors and employers to ensure they are resolved whilst the apprentice is still on programme, and still has time to rectify the issue and get back on track.
*Please refer to your contract / employer agreement for more on the 20% fee you may be liable for if your apprentice fails to sit their Apprenticeship Assessment.
Why do we need to evidence Off The Job Training?
The Department for Education holds Off The Job Training as an essential component of a quality apprenticeship. In order to qualify for funding from the Department for Education, we must be able to evidence how each individual apprentice is meeting the minimum 20% OTJT requirement. Consequently, where we are unable to evidence that an apprentice is meeting (or on track to meet) the 20% threshold by the end of their programme, Department for Education funding may be impacted.
The Department for Education confirmed that all training providers will need to record 'actual' Off The Job Training hours from August 2020. This will apply to apprentices who started from 1st August 2019. The data will need to be entered at the end of their apprenticeship to close off their Individual Learner Record (ILR), and if the actual hours we input do not meet the 20% minimum as set out in their ILR, this could result in a full funding claw-back as it would be a compliance breach of Department for Education funding rules and conditions.
We require all apprentices to record their OTJT activities on a timesheet, so that we have evidence of the hours spent in order to ensure they are receiving enough time to study and train towards their apprenticeship, and so that we have a record of their hours which will be submitted to the Department for Education once they complete their apprenticeship.
We also need evidence of their training activities in the event of a Department for Education audit, as an external auditor would expect to look at a sample of apprentices to ensure we are compliant, and this would include the evidence of their OTJT. The hours being spent on OTJT, as well as the quality of the training and learning they are receiving from us as the provider is important to demonstrate we are delivering quality apprenticeships, and to remain eligible for Department for Education funding.
How many OTJT hours are required by your apprentice?
Pre-August 2022 starts – Department for Education funding rules for apprentices that started before August 22 state that at least 20% of their contracted working hours must be spent on OTJT throughout their apprenticeship. This figure may vary for each apprentice depending on working hours and course duration. However, this minimum figure is set out at the beginning of the apprenticeship journey during onboarding and is documented on the commitment statement, which is agreed to by all three parties.
Starts from August 2022 onwards – The new Department for Education rules for OTJT go off a 6-hour minimum per week (20% based on a 30-hour standardised working week). For any starters from August 2022, we are tracking the planned hours we will deliver as a provider rather than the minimum hours. Whilst this should surpass the minimum, if the planned hours are not met, we will require a declaration of hours at the end of the apprenticeship to account for the outstanding hours that we have failed to deliver (for example, if an apprentice completes earlier than planned). It is still essential that the minimum hours are met to qualify for Department for Education funding.
How does your apprentice need to record their OTJT?
Onefile E-Portfolio is the platform for apprentices who started from August 2022 onwards to record their OTJT hours onto their timesheet and learning journal. We also migrated most of the earlier apprentices to Onefile in October 2022, excluding anyone in their final year or anyone on a programme we no longer run as an apprenticeship (for example, Chemistry). The apprentice is responsible for keeping their timesheet up to date by recording all OTJT completed, and internal compliance officers for each school will manage and monitor this. They will be in touch if an apprentice isn't engaging or is not on track to evidence their minimum or planned hours.
What are the different types of Off The Job Training?
University based learning and teaching of theory
Any learning or training completed at university counts towards OTJT, including lectures, seminars, role-playing, simulation exercises, online learning and webinars, training by internal experts, classes, workshops, etc.
Self-directed study and learning support / assessment
Any self-directed study the apprentice does towards their university work, or additional study towards their apprenticeship as a whole. This could include researching, writing assignments, revision, preparation for professional conversation, portfolio development, attending exams and assessments, etc. These OTJT activities should also be recorded on the timesheet, however it is important to note that in order to qualify as OTJT, it must be completed within the apprentices normal working time (including a University day). Any additional training completed outside of the apprentice's working hours, such as after work or on weekends if they typically work Monday–Friday would not be counted as Off The Job Training in line with Department for Education funding rules.
Work based learning and practical training
This would include any new learning or training at work that is not part of the apprentice's day-to-day role. Examples include job shadowing, mentoring, industry visits, placement/secondment to other employers for training, work-based activities demonstrating new skills development, training courses, conferences, workshops, etc. If your apprentice is using Onefile, we suggest that any work-based learning is recorded in the learning journal rather than the timesheet; it should still be ticked as Off The Job Training so that the hours are counted towards their total OTJT; however, the learning journal allows them to apply the relevant knowledge, skills and behaviours (KSBs) to their training activities so that they have evidence of this to refer back to when preparing for their Apprenticeship Assessment, and so they have evidence of how their OTJT has contributed towards the apprenticeship competencies.
What would not be classed as OTJT?
Certain activities cannot be included as OTJT in line with Department for Education funding regulations and guidance. These include:
- Level 2 Maths and English
- Progress Review Meetings
- Normal work duties that do not provide new learning towards the apprenticeship standard
- Any training that is completed outside the apprentices normal working hours
What happens if your apprentice is non-compliant with OTJT?
Internal compliance officers for each school manage and monitor the apprentice's OTJT, and if the apprentice is not engaging, behind with submissions, or behind with the number of hours they are spending, this will trigger a 3-stage escalations process:
- Stage 1 - an email to the apprentice to prompt them to submit their timesheet.
- Stage 2 - a follow-up email to the apprentice and their employer link tutor (ELT) / learning and development coach (LDC).
- Stage 3 - a formal warning email will be sent to the apprentice with their ELT / LDC and line manager notified to warn them that if we do not receive a timesheet following this, they may be withdrawn from the apprenticeship due to non-compliance.
This is something we want to avoid at all costs, and often the apprentice will respond to this escalation with their timesheet or an explanation. We will communicate with you if not, as we would have to start looking at next steps to demonstrate engagement and compliance in order to remain eligible for Department for Education funding. However, this is looked at on a case-by-case basis as we understand that there are sometimes extenuating circumstances.
Any issues surrounding non-compliance with the OTJT should be discussed at Progress Review Meetings, so this should not come as a surprise to anybody, but it is important there is a shared understanding of the importance of the OTJT requirement to be able to continue to run apprenticeships and have our apprentices successfully complete their apprenticeship whilst remaining compliant with Department for Education funding rules.
For any questions or issues about Off The Job Training, please contact the Apprenticeship Services Unit at app-timesheets@salford.ac.uk