A collaborative and productive session was recently facilitated at the College of Occupational Therapists’ London Headquarters to focus on the fast moving and growing apprenticeship agenda for occupational therapy. Stakeholders ranging from employers to educators, commissioners to professional bodies and practitioners across England were among the delegates and presentations related to Policy, Education and Practice were delivered.
The aims for the day were clearly defined as follows:
- To bring together key stakeholders from education, the workplace, training organisations, the professional body and commissioners to discuss and critically debate the apprenticeship agenda
- To identify both challenges and opportunities which face the profession of occupational therapy in light of the growth of apprenticeships
- To reach a consensus on the next steps and how COT can support employers
In successfully meeting these aims, a wide-ranging employer led group was formed to move the agenda forward towards finalising and submitting an Expression of Interest in becoming the approved trailblazer group responsible for writing the standard for a Level 6 Degree Apprenticeship in Occupational Therapy.
A further outcome from the meeting was the need to explore how well existing apprenticeships in the healthcare related professions at Levels 1-5 meet the needs of the occupational therapy profession and where any gaps might need to be addressed, together with the potential to build on the Level 6 standard to develop a Level 7 Masters Apprenticeship in Occupational Therapy, all of which will be considered at a later date.
This is currently a complex, fluid and fast-moving agenda. The role of the College of Occupational Therapists is to facilitate the development of an expression of interest (EOI) followed by an apprenticeship standard in occupational therapy which meets the quality, standard and requirements of the professional and regulatory bodies. For further information, see the government information about apprenticeships.
We expect to be posting regular updates on the website.
1. Grateful thanks go to our colleagues from: Skills for Care, Health Education England, Glasgow Clyde College, Communicate 2U and all delegates for their contribution throughout the day.