The UK’s biggest provider of life assurance products, Legal & General have supplied financial services to customers across the UK for nearly 200 years, and they’ve now expanded their market to the US.
With an aim to improve the lives of their customers, it made sense for the company to focus on one of their biggest assets – their people – to build a strong team who could deliver just that.
The Legal & General apprenticeship programme
A number of apprentices have recently worked with TSW Training Apprenticeships on their Level 3, Level 4 and Level 5 qualifications in Leadership & Management.
Previously assessed internally at Legal & General, they are now assessed by TSW Training Apprenticeships who work closely with managers to meet the company’s needs.
“For example, [TSW] include our values and behaviours into the training days [which are] run for the learners,” explains Elinor Worthington, Learning & Development Team Leader at Legal and General.
Giving a more tailored learning experience is crucial to both learners and the company getting the most out of the training. It means the skills they pick up on the course can be applied to their everyday working life, helping them to see the benefits of the apprenticeship programme almost immediately.
Managers of the future
The determination and perseverance of these learners, along with the support of their mentors and TSW Training Apprenticeships’ Advisor Sue Hampson, has meant the most recent cohort of apprentices have finished their course much earlier than planned.
Sue says, “Legal and General’s desire to support and build their staff into the managers of the future is second to none. It’s been fantastic to see such determination and dedication from so many of the learners who have embraced the tools, techniques and theories that we’ve covered into their own management style, and to see their own managers acknowledging the positive impact this has had on their staff members.
From doing their own skills gap analysis to identifying development areas as a manager, through to completing assignments that reflect on their journey throughout the qualification, it’s been a real pleasure to see the most recent cohort of learners embrace what ILM has taught them and acknowledge all the good work they already do through the evidence they upload.
“None of this could be achieved without the support of their managers, and the work ethic displayed by many of the latest cohort is something all should be proud of.”
We couldn’t agree more.
Working in partnership with Legal & General
Route Manager Crispin Seabrook has been working closely with Elinor at Legal & General to make sure the training we provide is exactly what’s needed for the staff.
Establishing a great working relationship, the two have kept the training process running smoothly and supported the learners through it all.
“As Elinor’s a qualified assessor, she understands the needs of the business and what’s expected of the learners,” Crispin says. “She’s always available to help and support the learners, speaking with line managers if any additional support needs to be put in place.
“Eli takes time to help the assessors from TSW Training Apprenticeships overcome any barriers that have been identified too. She has become part of the team and regularly attends standardisation meetings to ensure that she’s up to speed with the delivery of the qualifications and any changes that need to be implemented.
It’s good to see that the hard work that Legal & General and TSW Training Apprenticeships have put in over the last couple of years is paying off and the learners are benefitting from the qualifications.”
Here’s what Elinor had to say about working with TSW Training Apprenticeships…
Tell us about the Legal and General apprenticeship programme. Why does the business invest in apprenticeships and training?
We’ve found investing in the time needed for learners to complete their apprenticeships has helped develop knowledge and skills while supporting our colleagues to prepare for their future.
Learners who have completed an apprenticeship often state their confidence has increased as a result of the qualification and our newly qualified leaders have scored at a high level in our leadership engagement surveys.
Why is TSW Training your apprenticeships provider? Why do you like working with us?
TSW have worked with us closely to ensure that the qualifications they provide really fit with L&G’s needs including arranging training days in L&G’s locations (when allowed), developing plans which fit in with our changing needs and creating new training material in line with L&G values.
Is the apprenticeships content relevant to your team’s roles and duties?
This is where the great relationship we have with TSW works to make the apprenticeship very relevant. We work with TSW to ensure the learners choose units in line with our current and future needs and the content of those units also aligns. This also allows learners to be able to tailor the remaining units to their interests or specialisms which is great for personalising a national qualification.
How well can you see the learning transfer into your workplace? Do they share what they’ve learnt to improve wider team capabilities?
We complete a ‘Voice’ survey a number of times a year, part of which focuses on leadership engagement and communication.
We’ve completed analysis of these scores against individuals who have achieved our leadership programme (called Standout, which incorporates the L&M apprenticeship) and their scores are consistently higher than those who have not been through the Standout programme.
Standout apprentice line managers have scored higher on topics like speaking out, engagement, wellbeing and empowerment.
Do you think apprenticeships increase your employee’s wellbeing, happiness and fulfilment at work?
Definitely! We’ve received great feedback from apprentices who really appreciate the time commitment that the business has made in them, allowing and encouraging them to achieve these qualifications.
We’ve also found the apprentices have increased confidence in their abilities and their willingness to speak out.
How well do we keep you updated on your team’s progress? How well do we communicate with you?
We have great contact from TSW and work closely together to make sure any issues that may be identified are resolved as quickly as possible.
How does TSW support you personally as an apprentice manager?
As I’m also an assessor, I’m invited to the standardisation sessions which is also incredibly useful to keep my knowledge up to date and make sure that I’m also meeting TSW’s needs and standards.
What would you say to someone who was thinking about signing up for apprenticeships with TSW Training?
I’ve always found the support we’ve received from TSW to be good and any questions we’ve had have been answered and dealt with immediately. They’re happy to keep me up to date with anything I need and provide me with any supporting documentation and relevant websites/resources.