It would be an understatement if we were to say that there has been some resistance regarding the current enforcement of successful completion of both the ATF Shoemaking and L11 Course in order for farriers to train apprentices! In this article we focus on the what, who, why and when.
Denise Darwin Training Ltd is the agency appointed to deliver the course on behalf of the Farriery Training Agency (FTA). Denise, of Denise Darwin, has kindly given her account of the ‘farriery-tailored’ L11 they deliver although all farriers are reminded that it is not mandatory for farriers to complete the course with this agency.
“The L11 course – myths versus reality? Denise Darwin Training Ltd
Over the years that we have been delivering this L11 course to ATFs (2004; 2006; 2007; 2008), we have modified the qualification to become the end result of a mini Train the Trainer course, which supports new and existing ATFs in their quest for successful and effective training of their apprentices.
We acknowledge that many attendees of this course have been training apprentices for many years, and are skilled in the handling and training of these. We recognise this and therefore the observations of your training sessions are confirming, with a nationally recognised qualification, that your skills are used correctly and effectively.
CPD (Continuing Professional Development) is now expected in all types of employment, from shop floor to highest management, and our company is also dedicated to this. Despite being trained trainers of many years, we constantly self evaluate and also attend other training sessions, to ensure that our training is up to date and follows new research and innovation.
We amend and modify all our courses regularly, including the L11 course, based on feedback, both positive and negative.
At present, we are carrying out blind evaluation of 120 ATFs who have attended the courses since 2004 and are delighted with the feedback given. There are very few negative comments and many positive remarks such as the following:
“ I felt included in the course, talked to and not at” ( August 2004)
“ I thought it was very relaxed and very informative. Learned a lot about structuring your teaching skills” (October 2006)
“Excellent, good insight into teaching” (October 2006)
“ Beneficial course. Felt I had learned a lot…” ( May 2007)
We all need to re-visit our skills, which are learned over the years, and training is one of these skills.
Remember the true old saying “If you always do what you always did, then you’ll always get what you always got” and to the very few people who have commented on the cost of the course – remember that if you think that training (any type of training) is expensive – try ignorance!
Your apprentices are a valuable resource that can help you to earn money and build up your businesses, and enhance your own reputation. Invest in them as you would in any resource.
The L11 course is there to confirm your existing skills; help, support and guide you to improve and enhance training methods and to help you to train your apprentices more effectively in a rapidly changing industry, with a mixture of traditional skills, fresh ideas and new technology.” (Denise Darwin, February 2008).
As with any new ruling from a governing body there is opposition and once the rumour-mill starts to turn facts, figures and deadlines can become distorted. Here Forge & Farrier put together a selection of questions gathered from concerned farriers and apprentices to Miles Williamson-Noble, Training Director at the Farriery Training Agency (FTA).
1. An L11, or similar qualification, is not necessary for vets that lecture in universities – for what reason was it decided to make the L11 MANDATORY for farriers?
“Staff who teach in colleges of Further Education are required to acquire a full formal teaching qualification and to achieve minimum amounts of Continuing Professional Development each year. Universities are self governing bodies and have varying rules as to what teaching qualifications may be required.
ATFs are both farriers and teachers. For many years only those with the Diploma have been allowed to become ATFs, thus ensuring that they have the necessary knowledge, understanding and skills in farriery. Until the ATF course and then the L11 Teaching and Coaching Qualification were introduced there was no training nor test of competence in the understanding and skills of teaching and coaching . With the introduction of the L11, all ATFs are given guidance in teaching and coaching skills, and once they have completed it successfully will have shown that they have achieved a basic standard of competence.”
2. £445 is the cost of attending both the ATF Shoemaking Assessment and the L11 course, as run by Denise Darwin Training Ltd. In addition to the cost farriers completing these courses utilise one weekend day, one week day and if complying with requirements are required to take their apprentice on the L11, paid and not affecting their holiday entitlement. This is indeed a substantial mandatory financial and time cost to the ATF. How is this cost justified and how are the monies distributed?
“The L11 course is charged to ATFs at the fee charged to the FTA by Denise Darwin Training, with no profit or administrative charge being levied. Other providers that we have used in the past, such as Lantra, have all charged more. ATFs are at liberty to go to any provider of the L11, and by agreeing a minimum number of candidates some have been able to arrange a lower fee directly with the provider.
The fee of £50 for the shoemaking assessment is to cover bills from the colleges for provision of facilities, staff and consumables plus the cost of getting an assessor and supporting administrator to the location. The fee is intended to produce no profit or loss overall, although depending on the number of candidates individual sessions may make a surplus or a deficit.”
3. Is the L11 and ATF Shoemaking a one-off occurrence or will there be a need for the ATF to repeat this exercise in time to come?
“The L11 and the ATF shoemaking assessment are intended to be one-off qualifications, and there are no current plans to require future revalidation.”
4. If the L11 and ATF Shoemaking course mandatory for all those that lecture at colleges?
“No. As mentioned above there are separate requirements for college tutors. The college teaching qualification greatly exceeds what is required on the L11, and all candidates for college tutor posts will be expected to have current shoemaking and shoeing skills well above Diploma level.”
5. Many ATF’s successfully compete both on a national and international level, could there not have been a point at which these farriers were exempt from the ATF Shoemaking course? Similarly this could also include farriers that have recently taken the Associate and Fellowship examinations of the Worshipful Company of Farriers.
“Considerable consideration and much debate was given to the question of whether to exempt people from the shoemaking assessment. Points raised were:
• If considering shoeing competitions, at what level should the standard be set eg county, national or international – winner, placed or any entrant
• What about farriers known to have shoemaking skills of the highest level but who do not compete and are only qualified to DipWCF or RSS
• Although all Associate and Fellowship farriers will at some time have had shoemaking skills of a very high standard, will this still be the case if they no longer make shoes regularly. Interestingly, a number of those with higher qualifications have failed the assessment at their first attempt.
In the end the decision was made that the only fair and equitable way was for everyone to be required to take the assessment”
6. Many ATF’ s have successfully trained a number of apprentices – is this not evidence that they are more than capable of training further apprentices?
“Just because an ATF has successfully taught a number of apprentices in the past does not mean that he cannot develop his teaching and coaching skills further, in just the same way that passing the Diploma should not mean the end of developing farriery skills. The L11 should be looked on as CPD, and points can be gained from completing the course.”
7. There appears to be some confusion regarding exemption from the L11 in cases where the ATF holds a teaching certificate. Please confirm if this is the case and what qualification needs to be held.
“Teaching and coaching qualifications that match or exceed the L11 standard will be accepted in place of the L11. Typical examples are the Cert Ed, the teaching element of the Farriery Foundation Degree, and the Armed Services Instructional Techniques Courses. NVQ Assessor and Verifier qualifications are about different skills and do not provide exemption. Anyone who thinks they may be entitled to exemption should speak to Mrs Vicki Davitt at the FTA.”
8. Denise Darwin Training Ltd is conducting the training course as prescribed by the FTA. For what reason was an agency in Aberdeen asked to deliver a course in Stoneleigh?
“Denise Darwin Training was the most competitive provider we could find in relation to price, quality, targeting the training at farriers, and flexibility over location and timing. The company was first brought to our notice by an ATF arranging training for a group of Scottish ATFs. Most L11 courses prior to 2008 have been carried out at colleges using access course students, but due to the large number of ATFs needing to qualify in 2008 this was no longer practicable. Stoneleigh was chosen as a central location with suitable facilities, but since there are no Access Course students there, it was necessary to ask ATFs to bring their own apprentices for the practical evaluation.”
9. After January 2009, if sufficient ATF’s have not completed the L11 and Shoemaking Assessment what will happen to the students unable to start an apprenticeship and will any allowances be made for ATF’s that have not completed the courses?
“If an ATF has not completed the L11 and shoemaking assessment by 1 January 2009, he will be allowed to keep his existing apprentices but will not be able to start a new apprenticeship agreement (either beginner or part-way through) until he has qualified. There will be no exceptions.”
10. There has been some concern regarding Health & Safety in the workplace with recent events particularly where apprentices have been injured. Are there any plans to introduce Health & Safety courses for ATF’s or is this to be left to the decision of the ATF?
“Currently there are no such plans, although this could be an interesting topic for CPD courses. Equistudy, the distance learning arm of Warwickshire College, has for some time been developing a Health and Safety training course for farriery students, but no date for its availability has been set”.
Miles goes on to say.....
“Most ATFs are passionate about what they do and will appreciate the chance to improve their teaching and coaching skills. If they are taking their shoemaking teaching responsibilities seriously, they should be in current practice and will have no difficulty passing the assessment. Those who are not up to the standard should ask themselves how they can hope to teach an apprentice something they are not capable of doing themselves.
Although the deadline for qualification is now fast approaching, there has been a 5 year notice period which was introduced in direct response to the request from ATFs for time in which to qualify.
Lastly let me finish by pointing out that the L11 and the Shoemaking Assessment were not introduced by the staff in Sefton House working without reference to the profession. They resulted from complaints from a number of apprentices over many years that they were not getting good quality practical instruction from their ATFs, and that some ATFs could not make shoes to anything like the standard expected of apprentices. The Joint Farriery Training Committee (as it was then), decided that it was vital to improve the quality of instruction offered by the small percentage of bad ATFs, and that the only way to do this was to give train the trainer guidance and a test of shoemaking competence to all. This was recommended to Council which endorsed the proposal. There was a subsequent reappraisal of the timescale of introducing the requirement, giving longer for ATFs to achieve the standards, but no change in the basic requirement. Once all active ATFs have achieved the L11 and the Shoemaking Assessment, they will have shown that they have the ability to teach. All that remains is for ATFs and apprentices to show that they have the willingness to put this into practice.”
Whilst strong opposition to the introduction of such a ruling continues to rumble amongst current ATFs it remains a fact that failure to complete both elements before January 2009 will prevent the ATF being able to take on and train further apprentices. There are indeed a decreasing number of few spaces available on both of the courses and it is anticipated that towards the latter end of the year ATFs who have not already completed both the ATF Shoemaking and L11 course will find themselves without an opportunity to do so.
Claire Brown
Forge & Farrier March 2008.
This article was written by Forge & Farrier in response to a number of requests from farriers and is not intended to impart opinion. Whilst we welcome feedback from any article and will publish constructive comments from named parties we will not become involved in ‘political discussions’.
Feedback and comments......
02/04/08 Denise Darwin, Denise Darwin Training Ltd
In response to Question 1
"Lecturing and training/coaching are two differing skills. Lecturing is speech giving information about a subject and the L11 is a training techniques to enable one person to pass on their own learned skills to another person"
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