<aside> 💡 Our guidance on the software developer apprenticeship standard

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Every employer will handle supporting employees differently. We make recommendations here for employers to give a sense of how an employer can maintain a supportive and encouraging environment for an apprentice.

During the course of the apprenticeship, it is vital that they feel a valued member of the team and receive the same opportunities as other colleagues. We recommend that as part of their training with you, they participate in the following:

Management

Having a clear line manager will give an apprentice a clear point of contact, who they can reach out to when they need support.

We’d recommend that a line manager catches up with an apprentice at least once every two weeks. This would likely be a 30 minute call where the apprentice can discuss their experience including any questions or concerns with their work.

Performance reviews

• Schedule quarterly (or termly) reviews with the apprentice’s line manager throughout the apprenticeship;
• Use the learning checklist prepared at the start of their apprenticeship as a reference for reviewing their performance;
• Set realistic targets for each quarter. If it’s helpful, use the SMART (specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, time-bound) framework.
• If apprentices are consistently performing well in their role, employers should consider offering promotions or salary increases before the apprenticeship ends

Learning opportunities

When an apprentice begins with their employer, the employer will put together a learning plan with them, based on the KSBs. Throughout the apprenticeship, help them to follow this plan and for each item on it set aside time for learning. It is also important apprentices are encouraged to record what they have learnt that week, how much time they took off the job to learn it; and whether there is any evidence they could add, or have already added, to their portfolio.

It is important that the apprentice is actively encouraged and given opportunities to progress via training sessions, workshops and access to learning platforms while on the job. Using the apprentice’s learning plan for reference, help them put in place a study plan for learning each item on it and set aside time for doing so.

Working towards end-point assessment