Apprenticeships
Manager's guide to the Data Academy
What is an Apprenticeship?
An apprenticeship is a paid job where the employee learns and gains valuable experiences.
Alongside on-the-job training, apprentices spend at least 6 hours of their working week completing learning with a college, university or training provider which leads to a nationally recognised qualification.
The Data Academy's impact so far
The Data Academy has already had a fantastic impact on our business...
"Data analysis is a critical aspect of my role as a Product Owner because it enables me to make well-informed decisions about the direction and development of my product. By analysing data on customer behaviour, market trends, and system performance, I am able to identify opportunities and optimize the product roadmap to meet the needs of our target audience. Additionally, using data analysis to track the performance of product development allows me to learn from iterations, ensure that feature releases align with customer demands and business objectives, and continuously improve the product.
The apprenticeship program has significantly enhanced my skills in data analysis and reduced my reliance on external teams. For instance, I worked on a project aimed at increasing store-fulfilled home delivery orders. It was identified that we were not fulfilling as many delivery orders from stores as we had forecast was possible. To resolve this issue, I outlined the data requirements to be captured, implemented data capture, analysed the data, and identified areas for improvement. This project helped me discover four issues with the system and processes that would not have been identified without data analysis. After implementing resolutions, the number of orders from stores increased from 15,000 to 17,500 per week"
- Adam Hunt, Lead Product Owner
...the possibilities for your team are endless!
Required Viewing
Insight session for line managers
Benefits of having a Data Academy apprentice
Your apprentice will learn a whole breadth of new skills whilst on their apprenticeship and can share knowledge with the rest of the team.
Your apprentice will have the opportunity to work on projects for your team that may have been set aside or be on a to-do list. These projects are a perfect opportunity for the apprentice to show their learning and for the team to benefit from the outcome.
Apprenticeships have a positive impact on retention. The apprentice feels invested in by their organisation and they are better equipped for promotion opportunities, retaining your best talent and future proofing your team.
As part of our vision to become the best Pet Care Business in the world, we know that our goal is to use Data to better serve our customers and drive strategic decision making and automation.
Our Data Academy enables us to invest in our people, raising data literacy across all departments and helping to achieve our vision.
Data literacy can improve decision-making, time efficiency, innovation and productivity, as well as equipping your team to identify problems, communicate them effectively and learn from these experiences.
What's expected of me?
Off-the-job training is learning that takes place outside of the normal day-to-day duties which supports the achievement of the apprenticeship.
The Education and Skills Funding Agency have stated all apprentices are required to complete at least 6 hours of their paid, contracted, working hours on off-the-job training (or 20% for those who started their apprenticeship prior to 1 Aug 2022).
As a line manager, you must ensure that your learner gets time in their working week to focus on off-the-job time. Failure to provide this will block your apprentice from completing their apprenticeship.
We encourage you to familiarise yourself with what is and isn't classed as off-the-job time, which can be found in the off-the-job section of our Apprenticeships Guide, page 5.
As a line manager, you will be required to meet virtually with the training provider on a regular basis to keep up-to-date on their learning and provide any support needed.
As part of government funding rules, an employer is not permitted to ask for any reimbursement from the apprentice for any apprenticeship costs, therefore we do not issue Learning Agreements for Apprentices.
As well as the regular updates that you have with the training provider, they also provide monthly reports to the Future Talent team.
Here we will identify if additional support is required (for example a lack of off-the-job time) and will reach out to you and/or the learner as appropriate.
We will also share with you any high performers that have been identified each month.
Your apprentice will be able to access the following means of support internally while on programme:
- Data Academy Community Teams Channel (link) – This channel is for all on-programme learners to interact with each other and ask any questions in the first instance. We have two PCAG colleagues available on this channel specifically to support, as well as other cohorts who can share knowledge.
- Data Community Teams Channel (link) – Phil Armstrong welcomes all Data Academy Colleagues to request access to join this channel. Here colleagues across our Data Community are available to support with any questions that the Data Academy Community were not able to help with. This channel also includes pages of helpful information.
- Wednesday 3.30pm drop in session, apprentices can drop in, ask a question and be directed to the correct call being held by the PCAG team.
For additional support, the training provider should be able to support on most issues, so we do encourage you to reach out to their coach to see what additional support can be given.
You can also reach out to the Future Talent team at apprenticeships@vets4pets.com who can support with the learner needs and any training provider issues.
Your apprentice will be required to complete a work-based project in order to pass their End Point Assessment (EPA) and achieve their apprenticeship.
This project can be a great benefit to your team and we encourage you to identify a work based project that will have a positive impact, such as a project or process that is on a to-do list.
As a line manager, please be prepared to offer guidance and support when your apprentice is working on their EPA project.
Your Future Talent Team contact
Donna Regueira
