Off-the-Job (OTJ) training is a crucial component of your apprenticeship, designed to provide you with the essential knowledge, skills, and behaviours required for your chosen profession. Properly understanding and logging your OTJ hours ensures your efforts are recognised and contribute effectively to your apprenticeship journey.
What Qualifies as OTJ Training?
An activity officially counts as OTJ if it involves learning or practising something new that is directly relevant to any of the knowledge, skills, or behaviours underpinning your specific apprenticeship.
Key indicators to determine if an activity counts as OTJ:
Relevance: Does the activity enhance your understanding or proficiency in an area outlined in your apprenticeship standard?
New Learning/Practice: Are you acquiring new information, developing a new skill, or refining an existing one linked to the apprenticeship you are working towards?
Work Hours: The activity must take place during your contracted working hours.
On-Programme Period: OTJ is only valid during the 'on-programme' period of your apprenticeship, which begins after your "Flying Start" (initial induction/onboarding) and concludes at your "Gateway" (the point where you are ready for your end-point assessment).
Given the often broad nature of apprenticeship knowledge, skills, and behaviours, a wide range of activities can qualify as OTJ.
Why is OTJ Training Required During Working Hours?
This is a strict compliance requirement from the Department for Education (DfE) to meet apprenticeship regulations. Your employer is obligated to ensure you have dedicated time within your working hours to complete your apprenticeship training, including all OTJ activities.
Common OTJ Scenarios and Queries:
Here are answers to frequent scenarios regarding OTJ logging:
Learning event on a day off: If a learning event is scheduled for your day off, you can attend and log it as OTJ only if your employer agrees to provide you with time off in lieu. This arrangement represents a rearrangement of your working hours. Always agree on this with your employer in advance to ensure compliance with company and legislative employment policies.
Working weekends and no logging option: If you complete OTJ on a weekend, but the system doesn't allow weekend logging, select the closest available workday and clearly indicate the exact date and day of the week in the activity description.
Logging OTJ before Flying Start or after Gateway: You should only log OTJ during the planned learning period of your apprenticeship – after your Flying Start and before your Gateway date. This means that work completed during the EPA period should not be logged as OTJ.
Progress reviews: Attending progress reviews does not count as OTJ. According to funding rules, you are not actively learning or applying new skills during these sessions.
Choosing the Right OTJ Category for Your Activities
When logging your Off-the-Job (OTJ) activities, selecting the most appropriate category ensures accurate tracking of your progress and provides a clear record of your development. If an activity could reasonably fit into more than one category, don't worry too much about the specific choice; focus on accurately describing the activity itself.
Here's a guide to common OTJ categories with illustrative examples:
OTJ Category | Description | Examples |
Workshop, Bootcamp, or Delivery Session | Structured learning sessions, often instructor-led, covering specific modules or topics. | Attending a module delivery session led by an instructor; participating in a dedicated skills bootcamp. |
Training at Your Work | Formal or informal training provided within your workplace directly relevant to your apprenticeship. | Participating in internal company training on a new software system relevant to your role; receiving one-to-one coaching from a senior colleague on a specific work process. |
Apprenticeship-Related Learning | Self-directed learning activities that deepen your understanding of your apprenticeship subject matter. | Reading an industry article related to your apprenticeship; watching an educational video on a relevant technical skill; researching a new concept for a project. |
Shadowing a Colleague | Observing a colleague to learn about their responsibilities, processes, or how they apply specific skills. | Spending time observing a manager conducting client meetings; shadowing a developer to understand their coding practices; observing a team lead to learn about project management. |
Applying Apprenticeship Learning to Work | Directly implementing knowledge or skills gained from your apprenticeship into your daily work tasks or projects. | Using a new analytical technique learned in a module to solve a work problem; applying project management principles to a team assignment; developing a new report based on acquired data analysis skills. |
Cohort Collaboration | Working with your fellow apprentices or peers on topics or projects related to your apprenticeship. | Collaborating with your cohort on a group assignment; discussing a challenging concept with peers; participating in a study group for an upcoming assessment. |
Portfolio Work | Activities dedicated to compiling and organising evidence for your apprenticeship portfolio. | Collecting work samples for your portfolio; writing reflections on your learning experiences; organising documents for submission. |
Apprenticeship Assignment or Project | Completing specific academic tasks or projects assigned as part of your apprenticeship modules. | Working on a module's assignment; completing a research project for a specific unit; working on and writing up an apprenticeship project. |
Module Learning or Revision | Activities undertaken to prepare for or reinforce learning from specific apprenticeship modules. | Completing pre-work or extra reading for an upcoming delivery session; reviewing notes from a past module; creating flashcards for module content. |
Exam Revision or Assessment Work | Preparing specifically for examinations or knowledge checks related to your apprenticeship. | Completing practice knowledge checks; creating self-made revision resources for an exam. |
Communicating with My Coach | Seeking guidance or advice from your apprenticeship coach on matters relevant to your learning or development. | Discussing a challenging aspect of your apprenticeship with your coach; seeking advice on how to improve a specific skill. |
Multiverse Community | Engaging with the broader Multiverse community for development, learning, or peer interaction. | Attending a Multiverse Community event or development opportunity; reading an article or watching a video on the Multiverse Hub; communicating with peers on the Multiverse platform. |