BE WISER’S award-winning apprenticeship scheme “requires improvement” in all areas after inspectors found apprentices were leaving “dull” courses early in their droves.

Be Wiser Insurance, which employs around 700 people, received the damning rating after an Ofsted inspection took place between Tuesday, September 20 and Friday, September 23.

To date Be Wiser has enrolled 475 employees onto its apprenticeship scheme, and at the time of the inspection had 229 apprentices – a third of its workforce.

The company, with offices in Andover and Swindon, started delivering an apprenticeship programme in February last year.

The report said: “Managers have been slow to take action to reduce the high number of apprentices who leave early without completing their qualification, as well as the poor completion within planned timescales of others.”

It added although recent action was starting to have a positive effect, it had not yet had a sufficient impact.

The report said managers had not planned sufficiently individualised learning programmes and did not ensure apprentices always used their allocated learning time productively.

However, it did add managers created a supportive culture where apprentices showed ‘high levels of respect and an understanding of diversity’.

Assessing the teaching, the report said: “The majority of job-related group training sessions are dull and trainers do not plan sessions well enough to make them sufficiently inspiring and interesting and take account of apprentices’ individual needs and preferred learning styles.”

However, the report said assessors made good use of the skills, experience and up-to-date industry knowledge so apprentices could improve.

On personal development, it said: “Apprentices, particularly those on advanced-level qualifications, do not take sufficient responsibility for their own progress by planning their study time and learning how tasks fit within their programme.”

The inspection found apprentices enjoyed learning, improved their confidence and employability, contributed ‘very well’ to business success, and felt safe.

The report concluded: “Apprentices are often late in completing their qualification because of unrealistic and ineffective target setting.”

Crescens George, Be Wiser chief operating officer – recruitment, training and personnel, said: “This has been our first experience of an inspection and it has been valuable and helpful, identifying areas of strength in our programme as well as some basic weaknesses in our administrational areas, we have put actions in place to improve these.

“Over the last five years we have successfully enabled some 500 plus members of staff to take on an apprenticeship and we are proud that 246 have been successful.”