If you’re interested in completing an apprenticeship, you’ll often come across the terms “knowledge, skills, and behaviours”, or KSBs. But what are they, and what do you have to do to tick them off?
What are KSBs?
KSBs are the core attributes that you must have as an apprentice in order to be competent in the occupation that you’re working in. They sit alongside your technical studies and exams and are the main assessment methods used in an end point assessment (EPA). Think of it like the soft skills you see in the workplace.
Knowledge
The knowledge part of KSB relates to the learning you’ll do during your apprenticeship. It’s the information and technical detail that you need to know to carry out your role. Some knowledge will be specific to the occupation you will be working in, and some will be more generic. You may see this in your studies for a technical qualification such as an accountancy or data qualification.
Skills
Skills are the application of knowledge to your job. You’ll learn these through on and off the job training and experience. They shouldn’t be a repetition of the tasks or duties that you regularly carry out. They should fill in the gaps and give you more skills than you would usually have. If you study with us at Kaplan we have lots of additional resources for you on these, including areas such as communicating effectively.
Behaviours
The final part is behaviours, this mainly refers to your mindset and how you work. You need to act in a way that is appropriate for your organisation and profession. In some instances these are intuitive but they can also be learnt. Behaviours tend to be very transferable. They may be more similar across occupations than knowledge and skills. For example, team work, adaptability, and professionalism.
This article shares how ‘soft skills’ have become a key quality employers look for when recruiting new talent.
How do I know what I have to achieve?
Most apprenticeship programmes have 15 to 20 knowledge goals, 15 to 20 skill goals, and 5 to 6 behavioural goals - these are also known as statements. It is not necessary for knowledge statements to always have a corresponding skill or behaviour statement. Knowledge may underpin several skills and behaviours.
How are KSBs assessed?
At the end of your apprenticeship you will take an End Point Assessment, or EPA. It is likely you will have EPA1 as an exam from your awarding body and then EPA2 will be an assessment of the KSBs needed. EPA2 makes sure you can do the job that you’ve been training for.
The EPA will assess your knowledge and practical capabilities against the KSBs set out in your apprenticeship programme. You must pass all KSBs to pass your EPA and complete your apprenticeship.
When you enrol on a course at Kaplan as an apprentice, you will meet lots of people on your journey with us including tutors, Quality Coaches and Talent Coaches.
Your talent coach will support you throughout your apprenticeship, and guide you through everything you need to do. Your tutors are also here to support you and embed these knowledge, skills and behaviours into your technical qualification and enable you to see how they apply to your specific role and workplace.
At Kaplan there are also regular seminars and workshops on topics, including how to prioritise your work, leadership, building relationships, public speaking, and well-being. We will let you know all about these and how you can enrol.
Interested in an apprenticeship?
If you think an apprenticeship is the right thing for you, check out our programme pages to see what we offer. We have a wide range from accountancy, to investment, software development, and even game programming.