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Digital Apprenticeship Certificates:  What You Need to Know

What’s Changing?

Apprenticeship certificates are moving to a digital-first service.  Instead of receiving a paper certificate through the post, apprentices will be able to access, download and share their certificate online once it becomes available after successful completion of their apprenticeship.

Benefits of the New Digital Certificate Service

The new service will:

  • Give secure online access to apprenticeship certificates.
  • Provide immediate access once the certificate is available.
  • Allows secure sharing proof of achievement with employers and other organisations.
  • Reduce the need for printed certificates and postal delivery.
  • Support a more environmentally friendly certification process.

How It Will Work

Once the apprenticeship has been successfully completed and the certificate is ready, Apprentices will be able to:

  • Sign in to the digital certificate service.
  • Verify their identity using your ULN and other security information.
  • View and download their apprenticeship certificate.
  • Share a secure verification link with employers or third parties as proof of their achievement.

Why This Change Is Being Made

Feedback from users showed a need for a simpler, faster and more accessible way to access apprenticeship certificates.  The new digital service aims to provide a more secure, efficient and sustainable solution while removing the need for physical delivery.

What Apprentices Need to Do

✅ Know their Unique Learner Number (ULN) and keep a record of it before completing their apprenticeship.

The ULN will be needed to access the new digital certificate service and verify their identity.  If Apprentice’s don’t know their ULN, they should speak to their training provider.

Remember:  Keep your ULN safe and accessible so you can easily access your digital apprenticeship certificate when it becomes available.

Foundation Apprenticeships – what are they?

Foundation apprenticeships are the new apprenticeships aimed at supporting young people at the very start of their career. They share all the key principles of other apprenticeships, such as a real job with training, minimum duration, off the job training and being assessed as having reached the level of competence described in the occupational standard. Where there are differences, such as English and maths requirements for those who haven’t attained level 2, these have been added in response to stakeholder feedback with employers and providers. Employability skills have been included to ensure these young people can successfully make the move to full time employment and begin to build a successful career.

These new standards will sit alongside the existing high-quality standards and are not meant to replace them. This is not a mandatory entry route for young people, it’s a new, additional offer.

Foundation apprenticeships aim to support employers in key sectors to meet their current and future skills and resource needs by developing new opportunities to engage with younger employees and build pipelines of talent.

IfATE’s standards set out the recommended duration for the apprenticeships. In line with wider apprenticeships, the minimum duration will be 8 months, however this may be longer to accommodate individual learner needs.

The first foundation apprenticeships will be focussed on industrial strategy and government mission areas including:

Construction

Manufacturing

Health & Social Care

Digital

Skills England Occupational Maps

The maps created initially by IfATE, help anyone who has an interest, or is working, in technical education. This includes:

  • helping people understand the options to train and progress in their careers
  • showing how occupations at different levels link together
  • providing workforce and career planning information, including likely salaries

The maps group together occupations with related knowledge, skills and behaviours into 15 routes. This makes it easier to see how they relate to one another. They were called maps because they help people navigate the technical education landscape.

The maps show occupational standards which are employer-led descriptions of occupations. These standards describe each occupation, including its duties and required KSB’s. IfATE’s apprenticeships and technical education products are based on these standards.

For more information see: Occupational Maps: Skills England

How to obtain replacement exam certificates

If you have misplaced or lost your certificates you can obtain replacements by contacting the Examination Board. There are presently 5 boards in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Unfortunately, you cannot get a replacement certificate for an O level, CSE, GCSE or A level. However, you can obtain a ‘certified statement of results’ instead, especially where your old Exam Board no longer exists. This can be used in place of your exam certificate, for example for a university application. You might need to check with your old school, college or training provider if you’re not sure which exam board holds your results.

The Exam Board may give you a replacement certificate for other qualifications they offer and you have completed. You may need to prove your identity and pay a fee.

For more information see: Get a replacement exam certificate: Who to contact – GOV.UK

For each Exam Board see:

AQA – Past results and lost certificates

Council for Curriculum and Examinations Assessment (CCEA) – Replacement certificates

Pearson/Edexcel – Certificate services

Oxford, Cambridge and RSA Exams (OCR) – Replacement certificates

Welsh Joint Examinations Committee (WJEC) – Replacement exam certificates

A petition is a document signed by a number of people demanding or asking for some action to be taken by a government or another authority e.g., a local council. In law, a petition is a formal letter to a law court asking for a particular legal action to be taken, e.g., a petition for divorce.

The petition mentioned above was created on the Petitions – UK Government and Parliament website. If a petition gets 10,000 signatures the Government will respond and with a 100,000 signatures, the petition will be considered for debate in Parliament. So, if you are not happy about something and enough people think the same, you can petition the Government, and hopefully you will get a response.

Anyone can start a petition on this website as long as they are a British citizen or UK resident. For more information about petitions see: https://petition.parliament.uk/help

You may be aware of other petition websites, such as change.org They advertise themselves as “The world’s platform for change.” Whilst a global platform, they have many local, UK petitions that you can sign should you wish, helping to address people’s concerns and effecting change for the better.

So, if you are not happy about something and you think action needs to be taken, sign or start a petition so that your view is known.

Are you thinking about completing an apprenticeship?

If so you might want to check out: Become an apprentice. Here, you will find information about how to become an apprentice, what apprenticeships are available, which employers offer them and information about starting an apprenticeship.

Or, as you’re on our website, you might want to give Lewtay a call – 01733 552 475.

Are you struggling to find suitable help and support?

Then try the Hub of Hope website.

The Hub of Hope is a UK mental health support database, provided by the national mental health charity ‘Chasing the Stigma’.  It brings together details of local, national, peer, community, charity, private and NHS mental health support and services together in one place.

The services and support listed on the Hub of Hope are not only for when things become unbearable – a crisis point, they are also for those times when we notice we are starting to struggle, or when we need extra support as we start to emerge from a particularly difficult time.

The Hub of Hope also lists support and services for family members and friends to enable them to find help for themselves, as well as for the person they are supporting.

There is also a free Hub of Hope app you can download.

Remember, if you or someone you know feels suicidal, or may be a danger to themselves or others, call 999, your local crisis service or contact Samaritans or Crisis Text Line.  The latter can be accessed through the Hub of Hope via the ‘Need Help Now’ link: https://hubofhope.co.uk/need-help-now.

Source:  https://hubofhope.co.uk

Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) Driver and Vehicles account

Drivers in the UK now have extra ways of getting their licence or making changes with the additional functionality offered in the DVLA’s Driver & Vehicles Account. Also, those learning to drive can now apply for their first provisional licence through the same service.

The D&V account allows you to check various details, such as the vehicles you are allowed to drive, what penalty points or driving bans you’ve acquired, and the tax rates for your vehicle(s). The service also allows you to receive your vehicle tax reminder(s) by text or email rather than through the post.

For more information on this service and to sign up for it, see: https://gov.uk/driver-vehicles-account

Being able to vote in UK Elections

Hopefully, if you were eligible you’ve been able to exercise your democratic right and vote in UK national and local elections. If you did, then you were registered and so should be able to vote in any future elections that take place.

However, if you weren’t eligible at the the time but now are, or you weren’t on the Voting Register, make sure that you can vote in any forthcoming elections. You can can do this online using your National Insurance number, or by writing to your local council’s Electoral Registration Office.

Don’t forget on Polling Day, you will need to show an acceptable form of photo ID in order to vote. You do not need the Polling Card which should have been sent to you. This requirement may change.

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