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 - ABDO College

Dispensing Optician Apprenticeship

Duration

The DO Apprenticeship is completed over a 3 year (36 month) period

Assessment methods

Students must submit and pass all weekly assignments (pass mark = 40%) in order to gain entry into the external ABDO professional exams. Formal assessment is then carried out via these examinations with a mixture of theoretical and practical assessments across the 3 years of the programme.

Cost

Apprenticeships are funded in a different way to traditional 'privately funded' routes, this based around the status of the employer supporting the apprentice. If an employer pays the apprenticeship levy (generally larger employers with an annual salary bill of £3million+) then funding is drawn from their levy account. For non levy paying employers the cost of apprenticeship training is a combination of government funding (currently 95%) and employer co-investment, though there are some cases where full government funding is applicable. Please see our Employer Guide for further information.

Entry requirements

The entry requirements match those of the FBDO Diploma. Candidates require 5 GCSE’s grade A-C (4 to 9 from 2017). These must include English, Maths and Science. Candidates with 5 years or more experience in optical practice can apply with just English and Maths GCSE grade A-C (4 to 9 from 2017). Equivalent qualifications (such as leaving certs, national certificates etc) from Ireland, Northern Ireland and Scotland as well as international qualifications are also accepted. Please contact ABDO College directly to check eligibility. ABDO College requires international qualifications to be externally mapped by UK ENIC (agency of the Department of Education) to be considered as part of applications.

The Apprenticeship is only approved for delivery by the Department for Education for those domiciled in and working in England.

The DO Apprenticeship is classified as a full time apprenticeship. All apprentices must therefore be contracted to work at least 30 hours per week in practice.

Course structure

The course comprises of the following elements:
Coursework – weekly units to be studied by distance learning.
Practical Training Timetable – these are set tasks to be completed in practice working with, or under the observation of, a student’s Practice Education Lead.
Block release – Students will be required to attend ABDO College in Godmersham for two periods of block release each academic year for face to face learning in a classroom setting.

Students are required to be working in practice for a minimum of 20 hours per week under a GOC registered supervisor (Practice Education Lead – PEL, or Practice Task Supervisor – PTS). Students must apply to the GOC for student membership and retain this registration, along with complying with all relevant GOC regulations throughout their studies – this includes ensuring that all patients are made aware of their student status. Students must also be ABDO members for the duration of their study.

The distance learning element of the course requires some essential textbooks which are provided in ebook format. The booklist is available at the bottom of this page as well as the prices and order form for ABDO College Bookshop should learners wish to order physical copies. The programme is paperless so basic IT requirements are listed below.

The dispensing courses are periodically reviewed by the General Optical Council (GOC) who have recorded their approval of the College as a recognised training institution in accordance with the Optician’s Act.

Employer Involvement

Whilst some elements of the Apprenticeship delivery match those of the ‘traditional’ FBDO Diploma route, there are a number of key areas where employer involvement is enhanced or significantly different. Full details of employer involvement in Apprenticeship delivery can be found in the Employer Guide (see left) however a summary is below for reference:

  • It is a requirement for apprentices to be working in a dispensing practice, for a minimum of 30 contracted hours per week, while undertaking the Apprenticeship course. This must include 20 hours under the supervision of a suitably qualified person (DO, CLO, Optometrist), in an environment that will provide them with opportunities to meet the GOC competencies and expectations for practical experience. Each student must have a nominated ‘Practice Education Lead’ and can also have further named Practice Task Supervisors. This may require a change in working patterns in the practice to ensure that there are frequent, regular progress reviews between the supervisor and the student.
  • Apprentices cannot be charged any costs directly related to the learning plan, e.g. travel and accommodation for block release, practice based equipment to fulfil the minimum ABDO standards (see the FBDO syllabus on the ABDO website for details) if not already available to them, GOC and ABDO registration. Employers are liable for these expenses.
  • Employers must provide their apprentices with time to complete their ‘off-the-job’ learning tasks (e.g. weekly coursework, block release) within paid working hours – these tasks are detailed within each apprentices Learning Plan, devised at the commencement of their course. As a guide, weekly coursework is designed with 7.5 off the job learning hours and apprentices attend block release for 1 week, twice per academic year. There may also be further sessions delivered to support learners, which will be arranged as needed. Time to complete the required professional external examinations is also required.
  • Employers, learners and training providers are obliged to engage in Progress Reviews (minimum every 12 weeks) to check in on the development of the apprentice.
  • Should an apprentice change employer, their apprenticeship moves with them. They cannot be held liable for any fees or costs incurred by the previous employer.
  • You will need to apply for an apprenticeship services account before you can apply for funding. The apprenticeship service is a government online service which will allow you to set up and manage your apprenticeships.

It is important that employers are aware of their responsibilities when it comes to supporting apprenticeships – some of which are listed in the  above. These responsibilities are all agreed within a legally binding Employer Contract for Services with ABDO College. The individual learning plans must also be signed off by the 3 parties, learner, employer and provider, within the Apprenticeship Agreement signed at commencement of the course.

A full guide to employer responsbilities for apprenticeships can be found using the link below:

https://www.apprenticeships.gov.uk/employers/your-responsibilities-as-an-employer

Learning materials and IT requirements

The FBDO programme uses a paperless system in order to work alongside ABDO College’s commitment to sustainability. Therefore, all handouts and block materials are made available to all students at the beginning of the academic year through the Virtual Learning Environment. We encourage all students to attend block release with IT equipment to use for note taking. To facilitate this, power sources are available in all relevant classrooms and all block materials are fully editable, meaning students can make notes in a way that suits them. Should students prefer to make handwritten notes, they are required to print their materials ahead of block release and bring them along.

All examinations are run by ABDO Exams and Registration. Theory exams will be online. Students will need access to a PC, a stable internet connection, a webcam and a mic.

Advice from ABDO Exams regarding the computer setup to run the assessment system is below:

  • Laptop / computer with 4GB of available memory. The app will not work on phones, chrome books, or iPads/tablets. We cannot guarantee service on touchscreen devices as some devices might be incompatible with the app. We recommend that candidates source a non-touchscreen device for their exams.
  • A Windows v7.0+ or Mac10.10+ operating system, and MacOS BigSur users need to upgrade to 11.3+.
  • Intel Core i3 (or equivalent).
  • A working webcam that can be used to scan the room, microphone and speakers.
  • Minimum candidate internet speed of 2 Mbps.
  • Recommended screen size of at least 13″ and a resolution of 1024 x 768.

Register your interest

In order to commence your journey to become a DO Apprentice please complete the basic information on this form and a memeber of our team will be in touch. Click Here.