Background to the AAA
The aim of the Applied Ability Awards has been for the profession itself to establish and maintain common and consistent standards by which craft skills in the workplace can be developed and measured.
To that end the AAA National Committee was formed to oversee the Awards' management and delivery and consists of representatives from the main chefs' bodies in England, Wales and Scotland. The Committee's initial tasks were to define what needed to be learned in order to achieve the standard expected and, secondly, to construct the process to ensure the standard was met; in other words, to set the syllabus and to examine against that syllabus.
Furthermore, it was considered essential that any examination should be kept separate from the training received; in other words, that the trainer should have no responsibility for any final assessment. Examinations should, however, be conducted by senior, working chefs as approved by the Committee, with the emphasis on the application of practical skills and the candidate's aptitude as gauged through interview.
Another cornerstone is the belief that whilst the actual training may be delivered in various forms, each learner needs to have the support of an in-house chef mentor, with continuous professional development ultimately an integral to daily life in the kitchen.
The success of the above strategy is evident in the advent of the new Apprenticeship. Moreover, key lessons learnt during the extensive piloting, when 350 candidates completed the process at a pass rate of 61%, can now be addressed.
Background to the AAA
The aim of the Applied Ability Awards has been for the profession itself to establish and maintain common and consistent standards by which craft skills in the workplace can be developed and measured.
To that end the AAA National Committee was formed to oversee the Awards' management and delivery and consists of representatives from the main chefs' bodies in England, Wales and Scotland. The Committee's initial tasks were to define what needed to be learned in order to achieve the standard expected and, secondly, to construct the process to ensure the standard was met; in other words, to set the syllabus and to examine against that syllabus.
Furthermore, it was considered essential that any examination should be kept separate from the training received; in other words, that the trainer should have no responsibility for any final assessment. Examinations should, however, be conducted by senior, working chefs as approved by the Committee, with the emphasis on the application of practical skills and the candidate's aptitude as gauged through interview.
Another cornerstone is the belief that whilst the actual training may be delivered in various forms, each learner needs to have the support of an in-house chef mentor, with continuous professional development ultimately an integral to daily life in the kitchen.
The success of the above strategy is evident in the advent of the new Apprenticeship. Moreover, key lessons learnt during the extensive piloting, when 350 candidates completed the process at a pass rate of 61%, can now be addressed.
Background to the AAA
The aim of the Applied Ability Awards has been for the profession itself to establish and maintain common and consistent standards by which craft skills in the workplace can be developed and measured.
To that end the AAA National Committee was formed to oversee the Awards' management and delivery and consists of representatives from the main chefs' bodies in England, Wales and Scotland. The Committee's initial tasks were to define what needed to be learned in order to achieve the standard expected and, secondly, to construct the process to ensure the standard was met; in other words, to set the syllabus and to examine against that syllabus.
Furthermore, it was considered essential that any examination should be kept separate from the training received; in other words, that the trainer should have no responsibility for any final assessment. Examinations should, however, be conducted by senior, working chefs as approved by the Committee, with the emphasis on the application of practical skills and the candidate's aptitude as gauged through interview.
Another cornerstone is the belief that whilst the actual training may be delivered in various forms, each learner needs to have the support of an in-house chef mentor, with continuous professional development ultimately an integral to daily life in the kitchen.
The success of the above strategy is evident in the advent of the new Apprenticeship. Moreover, key lessons learnt during the extensive piloting, when 350 candidates completed the process at a pass rate of 61%, can now be addressed.