From the 14th October 2016, Welsh Government will amend the Specifications for Apprenticeship Standards in Wales to allow proxies and alternative qualifications to be accepted in lieu of Essential Skills Wales (ESW) / Essential Skills Qualifications (ESQ) in Communication, and in Application of Number for transferable skills.
The modification means that the qualifications like GCSEs, A/AS Levels, Functional Skills, and nation specific qualifications for English and Maths, that were previously excluded, have now been brought into scope for acceptability within SASW frameworks.
No proxies or alternatives are currently being accepted for ICT/Digital Literacy.
An updated version of the SASW and guidance documents can be found here SASW Oct 2016
Please note since this involves a statutory process, proxies and alternative qualifications will only be accepted for people commencing their framework on or after the 14th October 2016. This will not apply retrospectively and anyone starting their framework prior to this date must comply with the previous SASW requirements. For further guidance on pre 14/10/16 requirements please click see the Transferable Skills (Starts up to 13th Oct 2016) document.
The Federation for Industry Skills and Standards (FISSS) have created an ACW Transferable Skills guidance document in line with these changes, and this can be accessed through the ACW Knowledge Base .
We have also created an Acceptable Evidence guidance tool fully integrated with the ACW website, making it easier to navigate and find individual evidence examples.
Please also note that any SASW frameworks issued on or after 14th October 2016 will no longer include ERR as a compulsory element. However, some sectors may decide to retain the requirement for ERR so please check the specific framework document for further details.
The AFO online website where all SASW frameworks are held. You can find current, archive, and legacy frameworks in the ‘Framework Library’. All current SASW frameworks will be automatically updated on the 14th of October with a new cover sheet detailing how the above changes impact on the framework document. If you are unsure about the requirements of a SASW framework please speak with the Issuing Authority contact as listed in the framework document
You can also sign up here for email notifications when a framework is issued or changed:
If you have any further questions relating to this issue then please contact the ACW Support Team via acw@fisss.org or by calling 0300 303 4444.
