Commentary on Sections Part 1: Apprenticeships, Study and Training Completing an apprenticeship Section 1: Meaning of “completing an English apprenticeship”
40.Section 1 sets out the circumstances in which a person completes an English apprenticeship in relation to an apprenticeship framework (defined in section 12). The requirement is that the person meets the standard English completion conditions or the alternative English completion conditions. The standard completion conditions are set out in subsection (3). They require the person concerned to have entered into an apprenticeship agreement (see sections 32 to 36) which, at the date on which it was entered into, related to a recognised English apprenticeship framework. The conditions also require the person, while working under the agreement, to have completed a course of training for the qualification identified by the framework in question as the “competencies qualification”, and to have met all the other requirements specified in the apprenticeship framework for the award of a certificate.
41.Subsection (4) modifies the effect of subsection (3) where a person has been party to a succession of apprenticeship agreements relating to the same framework while working towards the competencies qualification specified, or has taken two or more courses of training leading to the competencies qualification. The person can still be entitled to an apprenticeship certificate in these circumstances.
42.Subsections (5) and (6) enable regulations to be made which cater for circumstances where a person has not entered into an apprenticeship agreement but is working under alternative working arrangements. The power to make regulations might be exercised, for instance, give a self-employed person or someone working as an unwaged volunteer an entitlement to an apprenticeship certificate, provided they had met all the other requirements specified for the award of a certificate.