Meet, prepare and connect
Your first programme has a soft-start month in September, January or May. Set up access, meet your coach, discuss your role and support needs, and confirm your learning plan.
Your apprentice charter
A clear journey.
People by your side.
Understand how learning, work and support fit together. Explore your programme below, then read the shared commitments that help you make steady progress.
Explore your programme
See how your journey fits together.
These dates illustrate KBC’s term pattern. Your confirmed offer and timetable set your own module sequence, class times, holiday dates and assessment schedule.
A rhythm you can plan around
Every semester has a clear shape.
Induction for new starters
Induction takes place in the first week of your first October, February or June semester. Get to know your systems, expectations, support contacts, safety routes and next steps.
14 interactive classes
Two hours per class, supported by reading, practice, assignments and coaching. Each module starts with an optional full-day London masterclass, with agreed travel, refreshments and buffet dinner covered.
One reading week
Use the scheduled reading week to revisit ideas, complete agreed learning and prepare questions. Your timetable identifies it, alongside the additional breaks below.
Space to rest and recharge
- The last two weeks of December.
- One Easter break in April.
- The last week of July and the first week of August.
- Bank-holiday adjustments and exact dates appear in your cohort timetable.
Contact your coach if leave or personal circumstances overlap with planned learning. We can discuss an appropriate catch-up plan.
Learning that fits your circumstances
Choose an agreed way to participate.
Live participation
Attendance mode
Join your timetabled classes and maintain KBC’s required attendance of at least 85%, with agreed absence and adjustment arrangements. The team records attendance and shares the monthly attendance report with your line manager.
- Tell your tutor or coach promptly if you need to miss a class.
- Recover missed learning through an agreed catch-up session or one-to-one support.
- Use recordings to support learning; watching one does not change the live-attendance measure.
Supported flexibility
Flexible mode
Where agreed with your employer and KBC, use recorded teaching and directed learning around your work pattern. There is no separate catch-up-class requirement or routine class-attendance percentage report to your manager.
- Watch the agreed recordings and evidence what you learn in your monthly submissions.
- Keep regular tutor contact, monthly coaching and ten-week employer reviews.
- Your coach still reviews participation, progress and learning needs with you and your manager.
Both modes require active learning, accurate records, protected paid training time and the full apprenticeship requirements. Flexible mode is supported learning, not a wholly self-directed course. Agree a mode change with KBC and your employer so the training plan remains realistic.
KBC’s attendance target and camera expectations are provider policies. Camera participation supports interaction and safe online learning; discuss an accessible alternative privately if you have a disability, privacy, technical or other barrier. Ask how authorised absence and recovered sessions are recorded for your cohort.
If you miss a session unexpectedly, the team may contact you to check you are safe and offer help. Illness, bereavement, work pressure or a change in circumstances should start a support conversation. Longer interruptions and employment changes need the compliance team’s advice about the appropriate plan or break in learning.
Make time for progress
Your regular learning commitment.
| When | Planned time | What you will do |
|---|---|---|
| Every teaching week | 2 hours | Interactive online class with your tutor; recordings support agreed catch-up and flexible learning. |
| Every week | 2–3 hours | Guided reading, videos, podcasts, quizzes and preparation using the learning materials. |
| Every month | 7 hours | Your monthly assignment: apply learning to work, explain decisions and show relevant evidence. |
| Every month | 1 hour | Present your progress to your coach, review evidence, discuss support and agree next steps. This is the monthly coaching meeting. |
| Every 10 weeks | 1 hour | Your coach presents progress to your manager, with you participating. Review workplace impact and agree priorities together. |
This is KBC’s regular study rhythm. Your individual training plan also allocates any additional occupational training and workshops needed to meet your programme’s requirements. Learning workload and eligible off-the-job training hours are different measures; progress reviews, administration and examinations do not automatically count as training.
Small steps, visible progress
A useful monthly routine.
Learn and keep evidence
Use the LMS for materials, recordings and quizzes. Keep a brief note of each activity, the actual time spent, the new learning and the knowledge, skills or behaviours developed.
Submit by the 20th
Use the KBC template in Aptem for your monthly learning record and assignment, including relevant employer-supported learning. If the 20th is not a working day, use the next working day. Ask early if you need support with a deadline.
Discuss, improve and plan
Bring a short prepared presentation to your one-hour coaching meeting, normally between the 20th and the 5th of the next month. Discuss progress, evidence, workplace impact and the next learning goal.
Arrange coaching and ten-week reviews ahead of time, ideally two months in advance. A ten-week review normally brings you, your coach and line manager together: your coach presents progress, you contribute your experience and your manager provides workplace feedback.
Show your own work and contribution. Protect employer, client and colleague information using authorised, anonymised or redacted evidence. Do not upload confidential material to public website tools. Keep learning reflections separate from formal assessment evidence where your programme’s assessment plan requires this.
Your learning time matters
Understand off-the-job training.
Off-the-job training develops new knowledge, skills and behaviours needed for your apprenticeship. It can happen at work; it is distinct from doing your normal job. Your employer protects the training time agreed in your plan during normal paid working hours.
Relevant teaching, guided reading, new occupational practice and assignments can count when they meet the rules and your training plan. Routine work, simply collecting or assembling a portfolio, progress reviews, induction and examinations do not automatically become training hours. Record eligible new learning accurately; do not automatically add preparation time to every class or repeat an activity in two monthly records.
The required total depends on your standard, start-date rules and evidenced prior learning. For newer starts, this uses the published standard-specific minimum. Your training plan states your required hours and how they will be delivered. If planned learning happens exceptionally outside normal hours, the arrangement must meet the applicable agreement, pay or time-off requirements.
Prepare well, progress confidently
Your professional examination policy.
Prepare with confidence
Complete all required revision questions, quizzes and final revision activities. Keep your off-the-job learning record current and review readiness with your coach.
Confirm the funded booking
KBC or IPC pays for the non-apprenticeship professional examinations included in your agreed offer when the revision and learning-record conditions are met. The team confirms eligibility, the funded attempt and the booking.
Keep the final stage manageable
The professional examination for your final module is taken after completion of the EPA requirements, so you can focus on apprenticeship assessment first. Your coach helps coordinate dates and preparation.
A professional-body examination is separate from apprenticeship assessment. Any qualification that is mandatory for gateway must follow the applicable assessment plan. External bodies control their entry, examination, adjustment and award requirements.
Your written offer confirms which examinations and memberships are included, membership periods, booking windows and any cancellation or resit terms. Apprentices are not charged the eligible apprenticeship training or assessment costs, including when they leave. Ask about any separately requested optional extras before agreeing to them.
Ready for the next stage
Gateway, assessment and celebration.
Throughout your programme, your coach helps you understand the assessment requirements and build suitable evidence. Optional preparation workshops help you practise and identify gaps before the final stage.
At gateway, you, your employer and KBC review readiness against the assessment plan that applies to your programme. The assessment organisation makes independent assessment decisions. Programme-specific methods, evidence rules, English and maths requirements and any mandatory qualifications are explained in your individual plan; the Marketing Executive assessment structure does not apply automatically to every apprenticeship.
After completing the required stages, celebrate your achievement at KBC’s fully covered graduation ceremony. The team confirms the venue, date and arrangements. Discuss your next role, further professional learning and career development with your coach.
You belong here
Support, safety and wellbeing.
Learning support shaped around you
You do not need a diagnosis to discuss a barrier. Ask about reading formats, study organisation, participation, technology, physical access, language, assessment preparation or wellbeing. We agree useful support and review whether it helps.
Free tutoring, coaching and one-to-one sessions are available. Healthcare support through Benenden Health is optional and follows its membership terms; the engagement team explains how to opt in.
Create your learning support plan →Speak up when something feels wrong
Tell us about bullying, harassment, discrimination, exploitation, unsafe behaviour or concerns about yourself or another person. You do not need to be certain before seeking advice.
Contact safeguarding@kentbusinesscollege.com, speak to your coach, or call 01622 958955 and ask for the safeguarding team. Your safeguarding contacts include Professor Yousef Sultan and Tina Wright.
Concerns are handled sensitively and information is shared only where needed to respond and protect people. In immediate danger, call 999; do not wait for an email response.
Prevent, respectful discussion and British values
Prevent is part of safeguarding: recognising and responding to risks of being drawn into terrorism. Teaching and discussion support critical thinking, online safety and respectful debate. Democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty, mutual respect and tolerance of different faiths and beliefs help shape our learning community. Identity, belief or lawful disagreement is not itself a safeguarding concern.
Explore the interactive Safeguarding & Prevent Handbook and Inclusion Handbook, or ask for another format.
More than the classroom
Learn with a professional community.
Study groups, clubs and workshops
Ask about learner communities, professional networking and face-to-face workshops in London, Maidstone, Manchester and Nottingham. KBC may support venue costs for agreed group study sessions; arrange this with the engagement team before booking.
Use peer discussion to share ideas and encouragement while keeping employer information confidential and submitting your own work.
Optional Strategy and Leadership study
The Marketing Executive Level 4 charter and PCP offer include the opportunity to access Level 7 Strategy and Leadership study at no additional cost. It has its own entry, coursework and award requirements, with weekend teaching and recording access.
Discuss the additional workload and confirmed offer before joining. This optional learning is separate from your apprenticeship and does not replace its required training or assessment.
Explore the wider programme →Keep the conversation open
Your voice improves your experience.
Tell your tutor or coach what is working and what could improve through classes, reviews and learner feedback. KBC uses learner and employer feedback, teaching review and quality checks to identify improvements and follow up actions.
If something has gone wrong, ask for help resolving it. You can use the formal complaints route without completing a questionnaire or waiting for your next coaching meeting. The full policy explains stages, contacts and response times. Assessment-result appeals and employment concerns have their own routes; the team can help you find the appropriate one.
Learning and delivery
Your tutor or coach; Professor Yousef Sultan for further delivery support.
Yousef.Sultan@kentbusinesscollege.comFunding, contracts and changes
Nada Ibrahim · Compliance. Report employment changes, interruptions or agreement questions promptly.
Nada.Ibrahim@kentbusinesscollege.comIT and learning-platform access
Muhammed El Masry · IT support.
Mohamed.Elmasry@kentbusinesscollege.comEvents, transport and benefits
Youmna Ibrahim · Engagement.
Youmn@kentbusinesscollege.comQuality and feedback
Contact the college office for the quality team. The published complaints policy sets the formal process and timescales.
office@kentbusinesscollege.orgEmployer learning support
Tina Wright · Employer engagement and workplace alignment.
Tina.Wright@kentbusinesscollege.comGovernment guidance on unresolved apprenticeship complaints →
Your own preparation list
Feel ready for your first step.
Choose the items you have discussed or prepared.
This checklist stays on the page. It is a preparation aid; it is not sent to KBC and does not replace your signed agreements.
Keep the detail close
Policies and agreements you can return to.
Safeguarding & PreventReport a concern and find the handbook →Inclusion & learning supportUnderstand support and adjustments →ComplaintsFollow the published process and timescales →WhistleblowingRaise a concern about wrongdoing →Onboarding & enrolmentUnderstand checks and agreements →Prior learningSee how existing learning is reviewed →Employer agreementUnderstand the shared commitment →PrivacyKnow how website tools use information →
Start with a clear conversation.
Ask us about your programme, learning commitments and the support that will help you succeed.