Portfolio

Since Ofqual was appointed to be the sole EQA organisation for all non-integrated degree Apprenticeships many EPA organisations have had to seek Ofqual recognition. RG Specialist Solutions has been providing support, advice and guidance to help develop the necessary policies, procedures and systems to assist in successful applications.

Establishing the End Point Assessment Service for an existing Ofqual regulated Awarding Organisation. This was from scratch and included developing applications to submit to ESFA, the development of new procedures, systems and materials, recruitment and training of assessors through to the delivery of EPAs.

Continuously working with a range of Awarding Organisations, including carrying out reviews as part of their self-assessment in advance of submitting their statements of compliance to Ofqual. Also providing support and advice on a range of issues, including regulatory concerns, development of qualifications, funding changes and new Apprenticeship Standards.

This has included providing one AO with interim management support for a period of six months and advising another following Ofqual actions and sanctions. I have continued to support other AO's in various ways.

Working with an awarding organisation on the development of a T level qualification and assessment materials following their successful tender to win the contract to deliver Technical Level qualifications from September 2021.

Commissioned by Ofqual to review a variety of different qualifications and assessment materials from awarding organisations as part of their regulatory work around Qualifications, End Point assessments, Technical Awards and T Levels.

Working with two different e-Learning organisations to develop innovative new eLearning materials to support both training providers and individuals.

Development and delivery of End Point Assessment workshops and materials for End Point Assessment Organisations, in a number of different areas.

Reviewing a variety of Chinese qualifications against UK equivalents, using Ofqual’s level descriptors to enable a judgement on the equivalence of these overseas qualifications.

Development and delivery of an MOT Appreciation Course to all the groups of Level 3 Apprentices, in order for them to know what to do to become a DVSA approved MOT tester when they finish their apprenticeship

We developed curriculum materials for a new government-backed organisation in Panama, in 3 subject areas: Light vehicle, Heavy vehicle and Industrial Maintenance subjects. This included creating Instructor and Student guides, involving guidance, schemes of work, lesson plans, sample assessment materials and projects.

Working with AlphaPlus, on behalf of the Federation of Awarding Bodies (FAB), in January 2017 I co-delivered a validity training workshop, utilising my practical experience in ensuring regulatory compliance. Over 20 Awarding Organisations attended and feedback from the event was excellent. Further workshops have been discussed. 

Following my work with CVER and LSE, I was asked to represent LSE at a number of Stakeholder meetings, held at the DFE and BEIS offices, prior to the April 2017 launch of the IFA. 

Having originally developed the MOT tester and Manager Qualifications for the IMI between January-May 2016, I  continued to work with them, delivering 1 and 3-day long training workshops to individuals who want to become trainers and assessors at IMI centres, and for those new centres wishing to gain approval to offer the qualifications.

Developing the offer in relation to the published Apprenticeship (Trailblazer) Standard for light vehicle maintenance and service technician.

Although having left the IMI in August 2015, I continued to work with them in order to develop their offer in relation to the published 'Standard' and 'Assessment plan' for the Apprenticeship (Trailblazer) Standard for light vehicle maintenance and service technician. This involved working closely with all stakeholders including the Trailbalzer Board, Government departments (BIS), manufacturers, employers and training providers. I have also been involved in other Trailblazer developments including land-based engineering and heavy vehicle. 

I was instrumental in the development of new MOT tester and Manager regulated qualifications, working with the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) and IMI in relation to the significant changes taking place around initial and ongoing MOT training. 

From September 2016, all new MOT Testers and Managers must achieve the new MOT qualifications, which will be derived from the new National Occupational Standards (NOS) for MOT Testers and Managers, developed by the IMI in consultation with the sector. Throughout the development of this qualification, I worked on behalf of the IMI, and with DVSA, and training providers to ensure the training programme benefits businesses and individuals.

In September 2015, Emtec contracted myself and former colleague and MD of IMI Awards, Alan Mackrill, to deliver a week-long series of presentations to delegates from Shanghai Communications School, in China.

The presentations included: An overview of the UK vocational education system, development and delivery of NOS and qualifications, the role of the regulators in the UK, Apprenticeships and Accreditations. It was well received by all attendees which included automotive lecturers, senior managers and a Vice Principal.

Conducting an international comparative study of investment in apprenticeship training in the automotive manufacturing and retail sectors for CVER, a department of the LSE.Between November 2015 and May 2016, I was engaged in carrying out research around automotive training and apprenticeships as part of an international project being coordinated by the Federal Institute for Vocational and Training (BIBB) in Germany.

This includes both the automotive manufacturing and service and repair sectors. The Centre for Vocational Education and Research (CVER), is a department of the London School of Economics (LSE), is the UK partner who has contracted me to arrange and carry out interviews with a range of businesses in each of the sectors. The resulting discussion paper has been published on the CVER website here: http://cver.lse.ac.uk/textonly/cver/pubs/cverdp011.pdf  

Unsurprisingly much of my work recently has been regarding new Apprenticeship Standards in England. I have worked with a number of large private training providers and vehicle manufacturers in preparation for the delivery of new Apprenticeship Standards. 

This has included looking at the required changes to training delivery, work-based arrangements, what is required for both gateway and end-point assessments, as well as the embedding of Functional Skills, British Values, Prevent, safeguarding etc. to ensure high-quality delivery against Ofsted Common Inspection Framework requirements.