JTL Blog  

The new Level 3 Plumbing and Domestic Heating Technician Apprenticeship is now available in selected JTL training centres and via many of JTL’s college partners around England. However, as a sector it feels like we’re struggling to get onboard with the new four-year Standard, with levels of awareness still extremely low. For example, if you look on well-known job sites, you’re guaranteed to see adverts for plumbing apprentices still referencing the Level 2 qualification, which is no longer available for enrolment in England.

Functional Skills qualifications are a set of capabilities designed to enable students to develop confidence and fluency in maths, English and information and communication technology (ICT) – a vital skillset to equip learners with the practical abilities to get the most out of their apprenticeship, employment, and everyday life.

Although the original date for receiving both GCSE and A-level results has not changed, school leavers will this year receive awarding qualifications without having taken any exams, leaving many teenagers, parents and guardians apprehensive about the future.

During the delivery of the summer statement, the Chancellor provided further detail into the government’s plan to tackle unemployment post Covid-19. The statement included a number of new initiatives, offering funding incentives and schemes aimed at helping young people. Caroline Turner, Director of Policy & External Relations at JTL, explains what these commitments mean for both learners and employers:

Following the Chancellor’s recent announcement that the government is injecting £111 million into the Traineeship programme to get young people in England into work, we caught up with Lindsay Talks, JTL’s product manager, to discuss all things Traineeships.

Continuing Professional Development (CPD) exists to ensure that employees enhance their skills and abilities once they have formally qualified. It involves ongoing upskilling to make sure that further learning is progressed in a practical and relevant way. CPD allows individuals to regularly focus on important areas of development and reduce any shortfalls in knowledge that they may have.

Following recent headlines surrounding the future of university teaching, which reveal students could now receive no face-to-face lectures when the new academic term resumes in September, we’ve been thinking about what this means for the future of higher education.

At JTL, we recognise the pivotal role electricians and plumbing and heating engineers are playing during the current COVID-19 situation. Our latest campaign, ‘You’re our heroes of today, help us train the heroes of tomorrow’, celebrates the positive difference trade professionals are making by continuing to provide the nation with essential services. We spoke to Cathie Foster, Head of Marketing & Communications at JTL to find out more.

For Mental Health Awareness Week (18-24 May 2020), JTL has been considering the impact that Covid-19 is having on those in trade roles who may be under increased pressure, both in and outside of work.

In light of the recent changes to the calculated grading system introduced by the Government following the cancellation of exams, now is as good a time as ever to start exploring career options available to you.