What is 20% off-the-job?

Off-the-job training is defined as learning which is undertaken outside of the normal day-to-day working environment and leads towards the achievement of an Apprenticeship.

This can include training that is delivered at the Apprentice’s normal place of work, but must not be delivered as part of their normal working duties.

• Off-the-job training does not include training that takes place outside of the Apprentice’s paid working hours or any course work completed at home
• Off-the-job training is based on the Apprentice’s normal working hours. For example – 37.5 hours = 7.5 hours over 5 working days. This can be allocated across the course duration in any format, providing it all adds up to 20% at the end

What can be used towards 20% off-the-job training?

• The Apprenticeship induction
• Teaching of theory e.g. lectures
• Simulated exercises and role play
• Online learning
• Attendance at competitions
• Anything where you gain new knowledge or experience
• Completion of practice papers (providing this is not functional skills)
• Short courses and training away from the normal working day
• Attendance at events (as long as you log what you learnt at the event)
• Shadowing and mentoring managers and/or colleagues
• Learning support, revision and writing assignments

The 20% doesn’t have to be one day or block release. It can be split up into groupings or can be completed as one day a week, one week a month or however best fits the business, as long as the hours are met.

• We do not stipulate how this should be spread out
• The content for off-the-job learning needs to be relevant to the qualification

What cannot be used towards 20% off-the-job training?

• Enrolment
• Company induction
• Diagnostic assessment or any other prior assessment
• English and Maths up to Level 2 – this is funded separately
• Progress reviews or on-programme assessments that are required in the Apprenticeship Standards
• Training to acquire skills, knowledge and behaviours that are not required in the Standard or Framework
• Off-the-job training only delivered by distance learning (although you can include online or other blended learning activities as part of an Apprenticeship)
• Training that takes place outside the Apprentice’s paid working hours

Evidencing 20% off-the-job training

• At Riverside, we use an e-portfolio system that can easily track and evidence the 20% off-the-job hours through activities set throughout the course duration
• All dates and times need to be clear so that the hours are easily identifiable
• You need to track and report everything you have done off-the-job
• You can use diary entries to record dates and times of any training completed
• We also provide a manual tracker which can then be uploaded in addition and as part of the entry if required
• Any qualification or extras not written into the Standard as mandatory, cannot be paid for by the government and therefore cannot be used as 20% off-the-job

Off-the-job hours will be monitored for quality by Ofsted and by the European Skills Funding Agency for audit purposes.