Watson Martin joined the RoATP register in January 2018 and is already delivering HR Apprenticeship Levels 3 and 5 programmes to cohorts from levy paying organisations with salary bills of £3 million plus.  The company also works with other RoATP centres to provide the CIPD qualifications associated with their HR apprenticeships and recently joined forces with Let Me Play, which has a long history of providing training to schools.

"We are already specialists at delivering high-quality HR and L&D qualification programmes, and so it makes sense for us to use this knowledge and experience to help large organisations develop their apprenticeship schemes," explained Watson Martin's Director, Heather Watson, who is leading on the new programmes with apprenticeship expert, Sharon White.

"Apprenticeships are a great fit for us, as our whole approach to learning allows candidates to use practical experiences in the workplace as part of their assessment process.  We are very excited about this opportunity, which takes us to a whole new level as a qualifications provider," she said.

Mathew Lord, Director of Let Me Play, said, "We are really excited about the partnership with Watson Martin because it allows us to work with a high-quality CIPD training provider to deliver the qualification element of the new HR standard. LMP Education is a specialist training provider with a long history of working with schools.  Over recent years, we have expanded our offering, and now we deliver pretty much every training programme that a school will need, which of course includes the important function of HR.  We have a great team, and we are looking forward to joining forces with Watson Martin to deliver the new Level 5 HR Apprenticeships."

Apprenticeships provide employers with a cost-effective way of growing their skills base. Open to all ages from 16, they combine on the job training with studying for a qualification.  For young people, apprenticeships offer an excellent alternative to university; they can achieve the same level of qualification alongside the work experience to help them get a job, and all without incurring the debt associated with full-time higher education.

"For employers, it's all about upskilling their current workforce and training on the job," added Sharon White.  "Apprenticeships are attractive to businesses as all the evidence shows they reduce turnover because you are training employees in your way of doing things which, in turn, creates brand loyalty."

All Watson Martin apprenticeship schemes are flexible and tailored to the needs of the collaborating organisation or training partner. Working with cohorts of a minimum of ten people, the company delivers to the full Apprenticeship Levels 3 and 5 standards not only to provide CIPD qualifications but also meeting the 20% off the job learning provision, functional skills, end-point assessment (EPA) preparation, as well as all of the government requirements in terms of monitoring and reporting.

Apprentices will benefit from the best industry tutors; a planned programme of workshops; 24/7 access to the company's virtual learning environment (VLE) and other quality forum and online materials; one-to-one meetings; a dedicated account manager; and rigorous monitoring from start to finish. In addition, they will be able to upload their assignments and evidence straight on to an ePortfolio, where their assessor can access it and provide feedback.