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Guidance for Sector Skills Councils

  • Modern Apprenticeships

The Modern Apprenticeship Group (MAG) meets on the third Thursday of every month. All frameworks and supporting documents must be submitted to the MA Subgroup prior to submission to MAG.

Find out when the MAG meeting and submission dates are for the next year.

There are now four levels of apprenticeship in Scotland:

  • Modern Apprenticeships at SCQF Level 5 (Level 2)
  • Modern Apprenticeships at SCQF Level 6/7 (Level 3)
  • Technical Apprenticeships at SCQF Level 8/9 (Level 4)
  • Professional Apprenticeships at SCQF Level 10+ (Level 5).

Technical and Professional Apprenticeships were developed in response to feedback from the Scottish Government's "Making Training Better" Consultation in late 2011. Read an overview of Technical and Professional Apprenticeships for further information.

SCQF Credit Rating

As there are now four possible levels determined by SCQF level, the main component qualification must be credit rated for the SCQF and the SCQF Level and Credit Points must be listed in the Framework.  If the qualification is not credit rated, it will not be possible for MAG to approve the framework. More information on SCQF Credit Rating can be found on the SCQF website.

Framework Template and Guidance and Proposal Template

The Framework and Guidance Documents were amended in January 2013 to reflect minor changes. Sector Skills Councils should use the most recent versions.

There are separate Standard Framework Templates for Modern Apprenticeships and Technical/Professional Apprenticeships. These should be used when revising an existing Framework or developing a new Framework. The completed Framework must be submitted with the Proposal Template.

There is one Guidance and Proposal Template which covers Modern, Technical and Professional Apprenticeships. This outlines the information and evidence required for the approval or re-approval of a Scottish Framework and provides general guidance on the approval and re-approval process. The guidance in this document is not exhaustive, but should be regarded as the minimum evidence to be included. The guidance document has four appendices:

  • Appendix 1: Proposal Template Document. This must be completed and enclosed when submitting a new or revised Framework
  • Appendix 2: Checklist. For use by SSCs when submitting a Framework, to ensure that all required information is included. It lists the criteria used by the MA Sub-Group when reviewing Frameworks and Proposal Documents
  • Appendix 3: MA VQ Template. This provides a list of the mandatory qualifications within the MA Framework. It must be included with the submission
  • Appendix 4: List of Career Skills. This is for Technical and Professional Apprenticeships only. Modern Apprenticeships still include Core Skills.
     

Sector Skills Councils should also read the sections on Core Skills and Modern Apprenticeships and Career Skills for Technical/ Professional Apprenticeships.

 

Read an overview of Technical and Professional Apprenticeships

Read about Career Skills for Technical and Professional Apprenticeships