REWARD
Find out more about the Level 3 Payroll Administrator apprenticeship
Ian Holloway MSc FCIPP, payroll consultant at i-Realise Ltd, provides further insight into the current review of the Level 3 Payroll Administrator apprenticeship and changes to the assessment methods I n September’s Professional magazine, I updated the profession on the 5 Payroll Assistant Manager). You can read about the Level 5 Payroll Assistant Manager apprenticeship here: http://ow.ly/ should follow the ‘robust, appropriate and deliverable’ intentions. In 2018
progress on the review of the Level 3 Payroll Administrator apprenticeship, which was approved for delivery by the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education (the IfATE) in 2018. Since then, as Trailblazer chair, I’ve been encouraged to see many apprenticeship
IO3i50KRnlW. So, the Standard details what must be taught to an apprentice. The End-Point Assessment Plan All qualifications require assessment to ensure competence, and, in the apprenticeship’s case, achievement of the KSBs. Therefore, this is an essential document for apprentices, employers, ATPs and end-point assessment organisations (EPAOs), as it details how the apprentice will be assessed for competence. It’s vital to get this document correct, ensuring the apprenticeship follows my priorities of being: l robust – i.e. accurately assessing competence, an assurance employers want l appropriate – i.e. assessing in a way that’s suitable and relevant, and l deliverable – i.e. the assessment methods have to be devised in such a way that the EPAO can actually perform them. Robust and appropriate are important, yet if they’re not achievable, they’re useless. The focus of this article is on the End-Point Assessment (EPA) Plan and the changes being made to the way apprentices are currently assessed. The assessment methods No payroll qualification should allow for anything less than the full demonstration of competence. After all, we don’t enter the payroll profession to be satisfied with, say, 40% accuracy and so, the apprenticeship doesn’t allow this. At all times, the way an apprentice is assessed
When the apprenticeship was first built by the Trailblazer (members of the payroll profession working specifically for the payroll profession), we rigidly followed the ‘robust, appropriate and deliverable’ characteristics, devising assessment methods that would allow the apprentice to show competence of the KSBs they’ve learned. The three methods chosen were: 1. the multiple-choice questions (MCQs), allowing the apprentice to demonstrate knowledge recall, just as we’re required to do as professionals, daily 2. the role simulation, requiring the apprentice to become an employee of a fictional organisation, performing many manual calculation and communication tasks, again, something we do professionally, and 3. the professional discussion, essentially allowing the apprentice to talk about what they do in their role at their workplace. All three assessment methods had to be taken in a strict order with the apprentice being unable to progress to the next until a pass was achieved – i.e., the MCQs had to be passed before moving onto the role simulation etc. Each method assessed different KSBs and no method was intended to be unrealistic or unachievable. In 2022 We have experience of delivery and assessment, plus the new Level 5 Payroll Assistant Manager qualification. The intention in Level 3 is to mirror, as far as
training providers (ATPs) adopt this apprenticeship, either developing their own training material or using material from commercial training organisations. You can read about the Level 3 Payroll Administator apprenticeship here: http:// ow.ly/44Fp50KRnir.
The two apprenticeship ‘parts’ In my article, I referred to the two parts of any apprenticeship developed under the English ‘Standards regime’: The Standard This document outlines all of the necessary knowledge, skills and behaviours (KSBs) of a typical apprentice at this level. As we know, being in payroll not only requires the knowledge to do something but also the skill of being able to apply it in practice. Plus, all people in the profession must have inherent attributes (behaviours) such as the requirement to work ethically, professionally and confidentially. Not all commercial payroll qualifications will recognise that being in payroll requires more than just the knowldege, yet the payoll apprenticeships do (both at Level 3 Payroll Administrator and at Level
| Professional in Payroll, Pensions and Reward | October 2022 | Issue 84 42
Made with FlippingBook - Online magazine maker