Apprenticeship Behaviour Changes: A Simple Guide for Employers

The government has introduced a change to how apprenticeship behaviours are verified, putting employers at the centre of the process.

While this sounds like a big change, for most businesses it should fit naturally into the support and supervision they already provide to their apprentices.
 

What's changing? 

Employers are responsible for confirming that apprentices have demonstrated the behaviours required in their apprenticeship standard. Training providers and assessment organisations will no longer assess these behaviours. 

The aim is to make apprenticeships simpler and reduce unnecessary administration by recognising that employers are best placed to see how apprentices perform in real workplace situations every day.
 

What are apprenticeship behaviours? 

Behaviours are the professional attitudes and ways of working that help someone perform effectively in their role. They sit alongside the knowledge and skills gained during an apprenticeship.  

Depending on the apprenticeship, behaviours could include things like: 

• Working well with others 
• Taking responsibility for tasks 
• Communicating professionally 
• Being adaptable to change 
• Maintaining high standards of quality.
   

What does this mean for employers? 

The good news is that employers don't need to create a new assessment process. The guidance is designed to fit into normal workplace activities such as: 

• Regular one-to-one meetings 
• Progress reviews 
• Supervision sessions 
• Performance discussions 
• Feedback from colleagues 
• Workplace observations. 

These everyday conversations and observations can provide the evidence needed to confirm an apprentice is demonstrating the required behaviours.
 

What should employers do? 

Here are five things you should do as an employer to support the new process. 

1. Set expectations early. Discuss the behaviours required for the apprenticeship at the start of the programme so the apprentice understands what is expected of them.  

2. Observe behaviours in the workplace. Look for examples during normal day-to-day activities rather than creating additional assessment tasks.  

3. Keep simple records. Make brief notes from reviews, feedback discussions or observations. This doesn't need to be complicated and can often be captured within existing systems.  

4. Talk about progress regularly. Use regular review meetings to discuss what's going well and identify any areas where additional support may be needed.  

5. Confirm behaviours at gateway. Before an apprenticeship certificate can be issued, employers will need to confirm that all required behaviours have been consistently demonstrated throughout the programme.
 

What does "consistently demonstrated" mean? 

It doesn't mean seeing a behaviour once or twice. 

The guidance states that behaviours should be observed repeatedly over time and in real workplace situations. Employers should feel confident that the apprentice regularly demonstrates the behaviours expected within their role.
 

Who signs off behaviours? 

In most cases, the apprentice's line manager, supervisor or mentor will be the person best placed to provide sign-off. The key requirement is that they have enough day-to-day oversight of the apprentice's work to make an informed judgement.  

Where apprentices work across different teams or locations, feedback can be gathered from multiple colleagues, but only one employer confirmation is required.
 

How will Total People support employers? 

Although employers will now lead behaviour verification, Total People will continue to support both employers and apprentices throughout the programme.  

We'll help employers to: 

• Understand the behaviours required for your apprenticeship standard 
• Discuss expectations with apprentices from the start 
• Review progress throughout the programme 
• Identify development needs early 
• Ensure the required employer confirmation is completed before certification. 

Our role is to make the process as straightforward as possible, giving you the confidence to support your apprentice's success.
 

The bottom line 

This change is about recognising that employers already play a key role in developing apprentices and are best placed to judge whether the required workplace behaviours have been demonstrated.  

By building behaviour verification into existing reviews and conversations, employers can support apprentices effectively while keeping the process simple and practical.  

If you'd like to understand more about the new requirements or discuss your apprenticeship programme, the Total People team is here to help.