| How to
become a TMB Partner printed from the Technology Means
Business web site |
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| Introduction |
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| The national network of accredited advisers has
been established and a register created to make it easier for smaller companies
to find an adviser with the specific expertise SMEs require. |
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| We are currently looking for key organisations
in London, East Midlands, Yorkshire & Humberside, Cornwall and the North
of Scotland to become part of our network of TMB Partners.
The primary requirement is that these partners offer a range of innovative
approaches to training and assessing business ICT advisers against the TMB
Standard. |
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| The expected target adviser group is to be drawn
from: |
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Business links, Local Support Centre staff |
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Banks, accountants and other professional
bodies |
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IT consultants, resellers and specialists |
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| The group of TMB Partners should provide
appropriate recruitment numbers from the above adviser channels as well
as providing a reasonable geographical spread of advisers throughout the
UK |
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| Frequently Asked Questions |
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| Q. I would like to go forward to submit a
proposal - what's the next step? |
| An organisation wishing to become a TMB Partners should submit a letter of intent to the TMB Agency. Once this is
received, the Agency will contact you with a date to submit a proposal. |
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| Q. What should my proposal contain? |
| The proposal should be in the form of a business
case and should adhere to the attached criteria. Staff at the Agency are
on hand to answer any questions you may have in completing this. |
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| Q. What is the cost involved? |
| The cost involved for becoming a TMB Partner is £1500 per annum, which covers all administration costs and
ongoing support from the Agency. When completing a submission £500
(deductable from the first years fee) must be paid on submission of the
proposal (non-refundable). |
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| Q. Is there any assistance available whilst
I am putting my proposal together? |
| Staff at the Agency will be able to assist you
with some of your queries. If you require more in-depth information, we
can refer you on to one of our verifiers who will be able to help. |
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| Q. What are the timescales involved? |
| The Agency requests that submissions should be
received no less than four weeks before the date of the Parter Management
Committee, where the proposal will be considered. This allows the submission
to be assessed and a visit carried out by an Agency Verifier, and any additional
information to be submitted, if required. |
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| Q. How will I know if I am approved? |
| The Agency will write to you to inform you of
their decision after the Partner Management Committee have met to discuss
your submission. |
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| Q. What happens if we are approved? |
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Provided with a welcome pack that includes
marketing materials |
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Given use of the TMB logo (with the words
TMB Partner inserted) to demonstrate competence to potential
clients |
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Listed on the TMB website and issued a
page on which to record details relevant to you. This has been designed
to assist potential candidates to locate a TMB Partner that
meets their individual needs. |
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Allocated an Agency Verifier who will support
you to implement your training programme and to verify work produced. |
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Provided with access (whilst remaining
approved) to the website"e;s TMB Partner Closed User Group and
the learning and assessment system including; tools for use with clients,
discussion forums, comprehensive information resources and the latest
news from the world of business and ICT. |
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Sent regular newsletters, features and
updates |
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| Q. What if I am not approved - can I re-apply? |
| The Partner Management Committee will outline
the reasons if you are not approved. You may be able to submit additional
information, or re-apply, but this will be at the discretion of the committee.
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| How to apply |
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| An organisation wishing to become a TMB Partner should submit a written application, in the form of a
portfolio, outlining the organisation's status and proposals relating to
the approval criteria, to: |
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Technology
Means Business |
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C/O
IT Forum Foundation Ltd. |
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Winkworth House |
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83 St. Judes Road |
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Englefield Green |
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Surrey |
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TW20 0DF |
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| The submission will then be considered at the
next meeting of the TMB Partner Management Committee |
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We do hold briefing sessions periodically. If
you would like to attend one of these for further information (free of charge),
please contact tmb@itff.org.uk to be
placed on our mailing list.
Alternatively, we can arrange for one of our staff to visit you and discuss
what is required.
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| Approval Criteria |
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| In making decisions as to whether a submitting
TMB Partner is approved, the approvals panel will measure the submission
against the following criteria: |
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background and history |
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TMB Partners will be well-established
organisations and financially secure. They should have a legal status
(limited company, partnership, defined consortium with agreed working
arrangements). |
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experience in competence-based training
and assessment |
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TMB Partners should demonstrate that
they have experience in assessing against performance standards. This
may include experience as deliverers of recognised awards or in company
appraisal procedures based on measuring performance against defined
criteria. |
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experience with SME adviser and/or ICT
training |
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The TMB Partner should demonstrate
that they have experience in delivering training and assessment in
the areas of business advice and in information and communications
technology. Where a TMB Partner is lacking experience in one
of the key areas - they must demonstrate that they have collaborative
arrangements in place with individuals who have expertise in training
and assessment in these areas. |
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target adviser group (numbers and sector) |
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Submitting TMB Partners should be
able to define clearly the target adviser group and to be able to
indicate their relationship to this group. Realistic details of proposed
candidates should be provided with an explanation as to how the target
figure has been arrived at. |
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resources (physical and learning) |
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The TMB Partner should indicate what
physical resources they have available and will commit to delivering
development and assessment programmes against the "standard"
in the mode of delivery that they describe. |
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TMB Partners will need to indicate
what learning resources they have available. Wherever possible TMB Partners should demonstrate that they have mapped such resource against
the requirements in the standards (performance and knowledge). |
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personnel (roles, experience and expertise,
CVs) |
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The TMB Partner should indicate which
personnel would be involved in the delivery of the programme. There
should be evidence that those nominated as tutors/assessors possess
the appropriate level of expertise and experience to support candidates
in their learning activities and in their activities with SMEs. The
assessment arrangements must be credible. It may be that more than
one assessor is used for each candidate where individual assessors
do not possess the appropriate mix of experience and underpinning
knowledge in both the SME advise and ICT areas. |
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The TMB Partner should indicate that
individuals named have sufficient time to fulfill the role indicated
and how the TMB Partner has covered this issue in its day-to-day
operational plans. |
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delivery mechanisms |
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The TMB Partner should indicate its
plans for the delivery of interventions intended to support candidates
towards achieving the accreditation. These plans should match the
resources indicated earlier. The approval panel will be keen to see
innovative approaches to delivery. |
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In particular the TMB Partner will
provide some detail (if appropriate) in the following intervention
types: |
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Induction |
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1:1 support |
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group support |
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access to learning |
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evidence assessment |
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quality control |
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administration |
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business case |
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Each TMB Partner will prepare their
submission as a business case for involvement, including: |
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Marketing and promotion |
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adviser recruitment |
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raising SME awareness |
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Costs |
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mandatory interventions |
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induction |
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tutor (formative) contact |
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evidence assessment (knowledge testing) |
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summative interview |
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Other interventions |
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learning support |
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workshops |
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tutorials |
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distance learning |
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Other costs |
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Quality assurance |
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record keeping |
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verifying assessment decisions |
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Staff |
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development |
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| Approval Process |
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| Upon submission of the application document the
Technology Means Business TMB Partner Management Committee
will consider the application against the approval criteria |
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| If the proposal is not approved the submitting
organisation will be notified in writing of the panel's decision
and advised of further action if any, required to achieve approval. |
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| If the proposal is approved in principle, the
submitting organisation will be notified in writing and will
then be subject to an approval visit from a representative of
TMB. |
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| As a result of the approval visit, the submitting
organisation will be notified in writing of the decision. If
the approval is denied the organisation will be advised of further
action, if any, required to achieve approval |
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| If, however, the approval is confirmed, TMB will
agree objectives with the TMB Partner and issue Standard
Terms & Conditions. |
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| The TMB Partner is required to
register formally the names of Tutor/Assessors and Internal
Verifiers with TMB |
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| TMB will appoint an External Verifier whose responsibility
it will be to monitor the TMB Partner |
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*Procedure
(TMB/P/3/001) Issue 2. 25/04/01 |
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