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Overview
Upon completing the Customer Service Specialist Apprenticeship (Level 3), you’ll gain a qualification equivalent to 2 A-Levels. Taking approximately 15-18 months to complete, this programme is an ideal career progression route into customer service. Typical job roles associated with the programme include Call Centre Manager, Customer Service Team Manager, Customer Service Specialist and many more.
There are no standardised eligibility criteria for this qualification. This means the individual employer will decide if a candidate is suitable.
Start date: Flexible
Typical duration: 15-18 Months (depending on hours worked each week)
Location: Nationwide (England)
ATL’s 23/24 Achievement Rate for the Level 3 Customer Service Specialist Apprenticeship Standard is 100% which is above the 23/24 National Averages of 42%
Customer Service Specialist Apprenticeship Features
Throughout the apprenticeship you’ll gain the skills, knowledge and behaviours needed for your chosen role and industry. To help you with this, you can expect to study the following subject areas:
- Business Knowledge and Understanding
- Business Focused Service Delivery
- Develop Self
- Customer Journey Knowledge
- Providing a Positive Customer Experience
- Customer Service Support
- Working with Your Customers / Customer Insights
Off-the-Job Training
Off-the-job (OTJ) training is a mandatory part of all apprenticeships funded by the Department for Education. Each apprenticeship standard has a set number of OTJ training hours that must be planned and completed. If you have no prior learning and your apprenticeship duration and funding have not been reduced, you are expected to complete the full number of OTJ hours as specified in the standard.
There is no requirement to increase OTJ hours for part-time apprentices. This includes those working less than 30 hours per week or on zero-hour contracts. The training must be realistic and aligned with the standard’s set requirements.
OTJ training takes place during your normal working hours and involves learning activities that are directly related to your apprenticeship. This could include one-to-one sessions with a tutor, preparing for assessments, role-playing workplace scenarios, attending training sessions or webinars on key industry topics and individual study time to complete coursework.
To check the minimum required hours for your apprenticeship, please use the link below:
View Apprenticeship Hours Requirements
Functional Skills
Functional Skills maths and English are an essential part of many apprenticeship courses. Apprentices aged 16-18 who have not previously achieved GCSE Grade 4/C (or an equivalent qualification) are required to complete and achieve their Functional Skills qualifications. However, for adult apprentices (19+), Functional Skills are now optional and not a mandatory requirement for completing an apprenticeship. The decision is for the employer and the learner to decide whether to undertake these qualifications.
Benefits of completing Functional Skills:
- Some higher-level roles and further qualifications require maths and English at Level 1 or 2. Completing Functional Skills can open doors to promotions and further education.
- Strong communication and numerical skills are essential in most job roles, helping with tasks like report writing, budgeting, and problem-solving.
- Functional Skills help with real-life tasks, such as managing finances, understanding contracts, and effective communication in personal and professional settings.
- Functional Skills are designed to be practical and flexible, meaning they can be tailored to fit around your apprenticeship work.
During your apprenticeship you will gather evidence as part of a portfolio to demonstrate your knowledge, skills and behaviours.
This will include:
- Completion of workbooks and knowledge questions.
- Virtual observations, carried out in line with data protection and GDPR requirements.
- Recorded professional discussions to capture reflective learning and understanding.
- Witness testimonies from managers to verify on-the-job performance and competence.
Forget about lugging around all your work. The online iLearner e-portfolio system means all your work can be uploaded directly to your account and accessed wherever you go.
The system is easy to navigate and full guidance will be provided through our iLearner handbook and from your tutor through one-to-one support.
The End-Point Assessment
As part of your Customer Service Specialist Apprenticeship, an End-Point Assessment (EPA) will be completed to demonstrate your development and growth. You can achieve either a Pass or Distinction based on your final grade.
Practical Observation
As part of the assessment process, an independent assessor will complete a practical observation of you in your place of work. This observation is a chance to showcase your skills in the customer service environment and your knowledge of the customer service industry.
Work-Based Project
Over a two month period, after completion of your portfolio, you will organise and document a project of your choosing to show your knowledge and skills in a practical way. An example of this would be a detailed report on dealing with complaints and difficult situations, what actions you took and how this was affected by policies in the business. At the end of your project, you will demonstrate what you have accomplished through an interview, detailing the initial intentions of your project and what was achieved through this. The interview is completed either face-to-face, or remotely where possible, with an independent assessor.
Professional Discussion
Through this discussion, you will establish further understanding of your knowledge and skills within the customer service industry based on the evidence you gathered in your portfolio. This may cover a number of scenarios you may have encountered in your job role, as well as questions relating to the development of skills. The discussion is completed remotely over the phone.
Go Further
Once you’ve completed your Customer Service Specialist Apprenticeship, there are several progression routes available, dependant on your industry and job role:
You can also progress into a variety of job roles, such as Supervisor, Team Leader , Project Officer, and many more!
Contact us for further information!
Call us on 01246 278931, email info@apprenticeteam.co.uk or fill in the contact form below to check availability and for further advice about the next steps.
Our team will be happy to advise you on additional programmes we provide and can help point you in the right direction for any learning requirement not delivered by Apprentice Team Ltd.
