Customer Service Specialist Apprenticeship Standard
This programme is designed for apprentices who want to further develop their skills, knowledge and behaviours for a job role involving being a professional in direct customer support within all sectors and organisation types providing customer service products and services for businesses and other organisations. Successful completion of the programme will lead to an Apprenticeship Certificate as a Customer Service Specialist
What types of activities are covered as part of the Customer Service Specialist Apprenticeship Standard?
The main purpose of a customer service specialist is to be a ‘professional’ for direct customer support within all sectors and organisation types. You are an advocate of Customer Service who acts as a referral point for dealing with more complex or technical customer requests, complaints, and queries. You are often an escalation point for complicated or ongoing customer problems. As an expert in your organisation’s products and/or services, you share knowledge with your wider team and colleagues. You gather and analyse data and customer information that influences change and improvements in service. Utilising both organisational and generic IT systems to carry out your role with an awareness of other digital technologies. This could be in many types of environment including contact centres, retail, webchat, service industry or any customer service point.
What does the Customer Service Specialist Apprenticeship Standard consist of?
Skills– Business focused service delivery, Providing a positive customer experience, Working with your customers / customer insights,Customer service performance, Service improvement.
Knowledge– Business Knowledge and Understanding, Customer Journey knowledge, Knowing your customers and their needs/ Customer Insight, Customer service culture and environment awareness.
Behaviours - Developing self, Ownership/ Responsibility, Team working, Equality, Presentation
Functional Skills – English Level 2 and Maths Level 2
Delivery
The period of learning, development and continuous assessment is managed jointly by the employer and Quest Training. The on-programme pace will be driven by apprentice as well as by the breadth of experience an employer can offer, but will typically be a minimum of 15 months, prior to the end-point assessment taking place.
There will be a combination of on the job and off the job learning and the off the job learning will include:
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Workshops
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Meetings with Tutor
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Online Learning
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Learning about a new product/service/resource
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Supervised learning – knowledge or practical skill
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Attending a review or appraisal
End-Point Assessment
The synoptic EPA has become a core feature of new apprenticeship standards because it assesses the apprentice’s performance across the whole standard rather than for individual tasks.
The End-Point Assessment is planned with the Independent End-Point Assessor, Employer and Apprentice
The End-Point assessment consists of three elements:
· Practical observation with Q&As
· Work based project, supported by an interview
· Professional Discussion supported by portfolio evidence.
The Work based project, supported by an interview and Professional Discussion supported by portfolio evidence may be completed online. All assessments need to be passed. Each assessment method directly assesses the knowledge, skills and behaviours of the Standard. The assessment is then graded.
