Well, it’s a magic number when you work in learning and development!
Learning ‘on the job’
It’s a model that suggests the ratio of learning that takes place and where it takes place. Wouldn’t you know it, the 70% is for learning that takes place ‘on the job’.
If that’s the case, how do we know that learning is taking place on the job?
Well, there are many ways we can do this, and the apprenticeship standards provide one such a tool.
An apprenticeship qualification in Health and Social Care really is an example of the 70:20:10 model because, in a nutshell, most of the learning and assessment is done on the job and quite right too!
‘You can’t learn that in a classroom’
Learning to support people to live their daily lives, take care of their wellbeing, and follow their dreams, doesn’t happen in a classroom. The REAL learning, understanding, and reflection, takes place when we actually meet and get to know the people we support and the team we’re working with. It’s only then that we really get to grips with the everyday challenges, highs (and lows) that comes with a job in social care, and what’s expected of us. You can’t learn all that in a classroom or a book; the real work is much more exciting!
Apprenticeship qualifications
One of our learners summarises her Health and Social Care apprenticeship:
“I have found it has developed my knowledge and even my skills within the workplace, it has also helped me achieve my personal goals of learning more about the purpose of my job role in supporting people with learning disabilities.”
The apprenticeship qualifications provide a platform to ensure that our staff are mentored, can reflect on their practice, learn from others, and check that learning has taken place, all whilst doing the job and getting paid.
At the end of the day, the people we support need to feel safe and well supported, and it’s up to us to make sure that staff are good at making this happen – in other words, that they’re competent. I’m not saying an apprenticeship qualification is an easy option; it’s not. It requires commitment, self-direction, and the willingness to put in that little bit extra.
Apprenticeship qualifications help us to reach our goals and, on the way, hopefully inspire our staff to work hard to become even more extraordinary at what they do.
Julie Plant
Head of Learning and Development
