UCAN
UCAN rely on us for consistently high quality, bespoke and innovative training delivery to maximise your return on your Apprenticeship Levy or to ensure the best value added from your financial contribution.
COMPANY OVERVIEW
We are one of less than 1700 hundred training organisations in the UK approved by the Government from 2017 to deliver end to end apprenticeships to employers in England.
Within that small group we are one of less than 800 who have a long established and proven track record of successfully delivering apprenticeships. Our apprentice achievement rates exceed the National average for our peer group by a wide margin.
Furthermore within the group of less than 800 we are one of only 530 who have been granted funding contracts to provide the Government’s co-investment of 90% to 100% in the cost of apprenticeships for businesses in England who do not pay the Apprenticeship Levy. This represents around 97% of all employers.
Around half of the training organisations are FE Colleges or Local Authorities making us one of a very small group of independent training organisations who have the knowledge, skills, creativity and flexibility to build bespoke programmes to fully meet an employer’s needs.
Holistic Approach
Bespoke and holistic approach in the design of programmes to meet the very specific requirements of employers and individuals.
Technology
Use of our own technology to streamline delivery by cutting out bureaucracy and duplication and freeing our skilled trainers to spend more time teaching and coaching.
Rich Library
Development of our own teaching and learning resources library which is aligned to the different industry sectors in which we operate.
Innovation
Innovation in continuing to align our training to Government priorities as well as the changing demands of employers and individuals.
Flexibility
Flexibility in aligning our activities with the day to day needs of our customers who include businesses of all sizes and individual students with highly diverse needs.
HISTORY
The story starts with a Government initiative to make vocational training more accessible to employers who could not work within the strictures set by FE Colleges at the time. To overcome this issue funding contracts were offered to private training providers of which UCAN (formerly CSM Training) was one. At the time the needs were for vocational qualifications (NVQ) and basic skills in English and maths.
Five years on UCAN was one of the fastest growing training providers in the sector supported by the Government regularly increasing our funding capacity based on our high success rates. We were supporting large and small employers in training and qualifying thousands of their staff in both NVQs and basic skills. However, the tide was turning and employers were beginning to question the value added by an NVQ which was largely achieved by workplace assessment. Similarly, the disparity between a basic skills qualification and the equivalent GCSE was proving to be far too wide.
A new Government resolved to deal with the skills gap that was leaving the UK behind our European partners. Funding priorities shifted to apprenticeship frameworks, which were perceived to provide a much higher quality of education, with a target of 3m apprentices by 2020.
UCAN was one of the first to recognise these new initiatives but also to adapt to these dramatic changes.
By the end of the Government’s first term of office UCAN had become one of the most successful providers of a small range of highly demanded apprenticeships while helping thousands of students achieve functional skills qualifications.
Strategically, to achieve this we had started the development of our flexible but comprehensive on-line delivery platform and the writing of our own teaching resources in order to overcome clear failings in other systems and resources available in the market.
The Government announced apprenticeship reform to replace frameworks, which remain centred on an NVQ, with new Apprenticeship Standards developed by employers to meet their sector needs. This was eclipsed by OFSTED's new Common Inspection Framework which, to reflect the reform, requires training providers to broaden their mandate to coach in the personal development, welfare and behaviour of apprentices as well as teach and assess technical skills.
UCAN's strategy has proven to be correct and means that we have the right systems, resources and staff to fully meet employers' and apprentices’ needs and achieve the Government’s objectives.
As well as our core SME market UCAN has aligned itself with large employers who will need support in managing their Apprenticeship Levy pot through the Digital Account System, and very small employers who can take advantage of Government incentives for taking on apprentices.
Aligning ourselves to the Government's priority for more technical qualifications, we have invested in new specialist training facilities in our primary locations in order to support the Local Enterprise Partnerships priority sectors such as motor vehicle maintenance, catering and IT.
We are one of fewer than 1,800 organisations who have the knowledge, skills and experience to be able to apply the new 2017 Register of Apprenticeship Training Providers which will be a requirement for any training provider wishing to support this continuing initiative.
UCAN PΛRTNERS
UCAN is a provider of nationally recognised qualifications which provide the skills that individuals and their employers need. Programmes include, for example, apprenticeships, professional and vocational qualifications, and functional skills. There are many facets to effective delivery of high-quality training programmes and to support UCAN in our mission we have a number of important and valued professional and business partners. Some of our key partners are detailed below.