Projects
As an organisation, we seek out opportunities for relevant projects to run which will be in the interest of our members. We also receive requests to run projects on behalf of organisations such as Local Authorities and Local Enterprise Partnerships.
Our Board carefully considers each project specification against a set of criteria, including whether our involvement would benefit our members. If these criteria are met and the project fits with our mission, then we proceed with the project.
Below is an overview of projects we are currently, or have recently, organised.
Apprenticeship Support & Knowledge (ASK) Programme
September 2019 –
SCTP is delighted to be delivering the Apprenticeship Support and Knowledge for Schools (ASK) programme across Brighton & Hove, East Sussex and West Sussex. The contract for the whole South region was awarded to SCTP member, CXK and SCTP will be working with them to deliver the programme across Sussex. For more information, see our ASK project page.
Taking Teaching Further Sussex
September 2019 –
Taking Teaching Further Sussex (TTF Sussex) is a new industry mentoring programme, supporting professionals in construction, STEM and digital sector roles to work closely with tutors and course designers within post-16 technical education. This innovative new TTF Sussex scheme has been devised by SCTP to generate new and improved opportunities for industry professionals to enter vocational and technical teaching, and to support curriculum development through sharing of insight and skills. TTF Sussex will fully explore these opportunities with participants throughout the scheme, and offer practical support to those in industry, considering dual professional teaching and assessing roles alongside their industry practice. For more information, please read our TTF Sussex project page.
East Sussex Apprenticeship Graduation Ceremony
September 2019
SCTP is working with East Sussex County Council on the first county-wide apprenticeship graduation ceremony which will take place on 25 September 2019 at the Devonshire Park Conference Centre in Eastbourne between 18:30 – 20:00. The graduation is open to apprentices living or working in East Sussex and who have completed or due to complete their apprenticeship between 1 September 2018 and 31 August 2019. The invitation, with event details can be seen here. You can sign up to the mailing list to get updates about the event. The booking site for the ceremony is here. If you are interested in sponsoring the ceremony, there is more information available here.
Apprenticeship CPD to Sussex Colleges
January – July 2019
SCTP, in partnership with the Sussex Learning Network, is delivering CPD sessions to senior teams and advisors in colleges across Sussex. Follow up sessions will be delivered to review and support information, advice and guidance around apprenticeships with local and regional labour market information.
Apprenticeships in Sussex School Engagement
September 2018 – July 2019
The Apprenticeship in Sussex (AIS) service continues to visit schools in East Sussex, in partnership with East Sussex County Council. The sessions include talks/presentations in assemblies, interactive workshops with small groups of students and stands at careers events, offering 1:1 advice and signposting to parents/carers and young people.
AIS will also be engaging with schools in Brighton & Hove and West Sussex, in partnership with Coast to Capital LEP and the Careers and Enterprise Company. AIS will be contacting schools to support their engagement with apprenticeships and identify apprenticeship champions within schools.
SCTP has also been involved with CPD training on apprenticeships across the whole of Sussex for Enterprise Advisers.
East Sussex Apprenticeship Roadshows for March 2019
March 2019
SCTP once again worked in partnership with East Sussex County Council to run two Apprenticeship Roadshows in Eastbourne and Hastings in and around National Apprenticeship Week in March 2019. The events brought together employers, training providers, young people and their parents/carers, providing up to date information on traineeships and apprenticeships (from pre-employment to higher and degree apprenticeships). The events, held in Eastbourne and Hastings, were really busy, successful events, attracting over 700 people. Both evenings also featured panel events about apprenticeships and traineeships, giving the experiences of apprentices, apprenticeship employers and training providers. Very positive feedback was received from attendees at both events.
In addition to these large-scale events, SCTP delivered some pop-up stands in Heathfield, Uckfield, Crowborough and Lewes, aimed at parents and young people to provide information on apprenticeships and traineeships.
Brighton & Hove Apprenticeship Graduation Ceremony
March 2019
SCTP supported Brighton & Hove City Council in organising the Brighton & Hove Apprenticeship Graduation Ceremony, which was held on 7 March at the AMEX Stadium. The ceremony celebrated apprentices and traineeship learners who completed between January 2018 and end of February 2019 and who live or work in Brighton and Hove. It was a lovely event marking the achievements of the apprentices and traineeship learners present. The brochure from the event is available here.
More Pathways to FE
February – March 2019
SCTP, funded by the Association of Colleges, successfully secured work placements from independent training providers and FE colleges across the South East region for university students interested in a career in FE.
Apprenticeship Video Case Studies
December 2018 – January 2019
SCTP, in partnership with the Sussex Learning Network’s National Collaborative Outreach Programme, has filmed a set of video case studies showing the range of motivations, lived experiences and entry points for apprentices in Sussex. These are available to view on SCTP’s YouTube channel.
Teach Too Programme
October 2018 – February 2019
From Nov 2017 – March 2018 SCTP, funded by the Education and Training Foundation (ETF), successfully delivered a Teach Too pilot programme, which aimed to develop a framework and toolkit that enables employers and training providers to co-create curriculum, share and train staff and build cutting-edge solutions to local sector skills problems. The Teach Too Toolkit has helped create a model and process for greater co-operation and collaboration in the design and delivery of training.
Following on from this programme, SCTP has now delivered a new Teach Too project, funded by the ETF via the Association of Colleges, to support activities where people from industry are working with providers to actively contribute to curriculum design and delivery. The events were a series of interactive, industry-led events, looking at tackling skills shortages in the construction, engineering and tech sectors. These events aimed to explore how businesses and training providers can work differently, and more collaboratively, to develop apprenticeships, full-time vocational courses and forthcoming T Levels.
- The Skills Swap Café sessions looked at how industry managers can develop their own training and mentoring skills in order to better recruit, support and develop junior staff. They examined how teaching staff can update their knowledge of our region’s major growth sectors, so that courses and qualifications are more relevant and cutting-edge. The sessions ran in Hastings, Brighton and Chichester.
- The ‘What is Dual Professionalism?’ events looked at what it is to be a ‘dual professional’ and how the future of work-based learning will depend on skilled industry experts knowing how to teach, assess, mentor and train. The sessions also ran in Hastings, Brighton and Chichester.
This project culminated in a ‘Speaking a Shared Language’ mini conference in February 2019 at the AMEX stadium in Brighton, for employers and training providers.
ETF Research Project
October – December 2018
SCTP carried out a research project on behalf of the Education & Training Foundation (ETF), aimed at gathering feedback from SCTP members on their experience of the ETF offer to date and ideas for ensuring maximum effectiveness of this government-funded offer to providers. A presentation of the outcomes of the research can be viewed on the members’ resources page here.
National Collaborative Outreach Programme to promote apprenticeships in schools and communities
September 2017 – December 2018
SCTP received funding from the Sussex Learning Network’s bid from the National Collaborative Outreach Programme (NCOP). The NCOP programme aims to increase the participation in higher education of disadvantaged groups across East and West Sussex and Brighton & Hove. SCTP focused on delivering activities to boost outreach in schools, raise parent/carer understanding of apprenticeship progression routes, and build links with local communities, using the Apprenticeships in Sussex brand.
Throughout the 2017/18 academic year and the start of the 2018/19 year, this project included a broad programme of schools workshops and presentations, plus a more targeted series of workshops and small-group sessions in the top 30 SLN:COP target schools. It also involved delivering workshops, events and small-group sessions in community settings.
For this project, a menu of activities was developed which was offered to the groups that were targeted throughout the programme, including:
- Talks/ presentations in assemblies or events, including panel events,
- Interactive workshops with small groups of students, including
developing resources to support workshops. These workshops focused either on a general introduction to apprenticeships, looking at apprenticeship progression opportunities in different sectors and on being apprenticeship ready and thinking about how to identify the skills you have before you apply. - Apprenticeship in Sussex stands at careers events, offering 1:1 advice and signposting to parents/ carers and young people.
- Downloadable print resources, providing practical step by step guidance to support young people and parents/ carers to decide if apprenticeships are right for them and find and apply for apprenticeships.
In the 2017/18 academic year we engaged with approximately 2900 learners through our work with schools, and with another 980 learners and parents through our community events and apprenticeship roadshows across Sussex.
Brighton & Hove Apprenticeship Events
June & July 2018
SCTP, in partnership with Brighton & Hove City Council, organised two apprenticeships events in Brighton and Hove in June and July 2018. The events successfully engaged about 400 people, who attended to find out more about apprenticeships and traineeships. The attendees at both events were able to talk to a wide range of training providers and employers and the events both featured panel events about apprenticeships and traineeships, giving the experiences of apprentices, apprenticeship employers and training providers. The feedback from visitors from both events was very positive.
East Sussex Parent Roadshows for National Apprenticeship Week 2018
March 2018
SCTP, in partnership with East Sussex County Council, organised two apprenticeship events in March 2018. The events brought together employers, training providers, young people and their parents; providing up to date information on traineeships and apprenticeships (from pre-employment to higher and degree apprenticeships). The events, held in Eastbourne and Hastings were really buzzing, successful events, attracting over 850 people. Both evenings also featured panel events about apprenticeships and traineeships, giving the experiences of apprentices, apprenticeship employers and training providers. Very positive feedback was received from attendees at both events.
Apprenticeships in Sussex – Apprentice Ambassadors
2016 – 2018
Working with Local Authority partners and the NCOP, SCTP has trained 80 apprentices from across Sussex in the last few years to act as Apprentice Ambassadors, and inspire other young people to take up an apprenticeship. The apprentices learn to share their apprenticeship experience by talking in schools, colleges and in community settings, and by taking part in video case study resources, helping to make young people aware of the opportunities available.
The training enables the apprentices to speak confidently about apprenticeships, how to hold and engage an audience, how to tell their story and answer questions effectively. The apprentices have benefited by developing their confidence and interpersonal skills and their employer has the benefit of being promoted in the local community and supporting the development of their apprentice.
Pictured on the left of this photo are two apprentice ambassadors from Brighton & Hove City Council.
Presenting Apprenticeship Opportunities to Parents and Young People at Hove Town Hall
July 2017
On 4 July SCTP, in partnership with Brighton & Hove City Council, arranged an event at Hove Town Hall called ‘Apprenticeships – busting the myths’.
Over 600 parents and young people came along to meet training providers to talk about the opportunities that apprenticeships offer.
Promoting Apprenticeships to SMEs. Developing an infographic for employers in East Sussex
July 2017
We worked with East Sussex County Council and the South East Local Enterprise Partnership to create a clear infographic for local small & medium-sized businesses. With essential statements, statistics, case studies and testimonials, this resource will be widely shared with small businesses thinking about their apprenticeship offer. Feel free to download and share the infographic. [pdf]
Apprenticeship promotional videos produced by SCTP
July 2017
SCTP produced a series of videos for Brighton & Hove City Council, to inform potential apprentices and employers about how apprenticeships work and the opportunities available for apprentices and benefits to different businesses.
They succinctly tell stories about apprenticeships from a range of perspectives, including that of apprentices, employers and parents. All the videos are available on the SCTP YouTube Channel. Feel free to embed these videos in your websites to help spread the word about the benefits of apprentices.
SCTP, in association with CXK Ltd & the South East Local Enterprise Partnership (SELEP), has produced ten videos promoting apprenticeships. The videos feature employers and apprentices speaking about their positive experiences of being involved in the programme. The videos were successfully showcased at a SELEP skills event and are available for use now and can be accessed on the SCTP You Tube channel.