Apprenticeships
City Ambassador Programme
Southampton
Be part of a network of employers taking pride in our city! Enrolling now for 2022/23
Qualification Title
Customer Service Practitioner
Qualification Level
Level 2
End Point Assessment Centre
Pearson, NCFE, iCQ
Instruction Language
English
Qualification Duration
12 months
Welcome to the Southampton
City Ambassador Programme:
What is the City Ambassador Programme?
The City Ambassador Programme is about delivering customer service the Southampton way.
Who is this course suitable for?
The City Ambassador Programme is built around a Customer Service Apprenticeship Level 2, one of the most popular apprenticeships in the UK. At Kiwi, we’ve taken the Apprenticeship Programme and given it a new Southampton ‘twist’!
The customer service industry covers many sectors and job roles relevant to the City of Southampton and the wider community. These roles are complemented by customer service skills and the added knowledge of Southampton’s past, present and future.
This programme is for anyone whose role is to welcome customers and those visiting the city, equipping them with the knowledge and skills to deliver an exceptional Southampton customer welcome.
Benefits to your business
- Qualified staff who know the city and your customers
- Flexible training schedule to meet the needs of your organisation
- A Southampton recognised standard of customer care
- Government funding support
- The opportunity to develop existing member of your team
- A better connection to the Southampton Community
To read the full Customer Service Level 2 Apprenticeship Standard: Click here
The City Ambassador Journey
The programme is structured to meet the needs of your organisation and staff and is delivered by Southampton Trainers through 1-2-1 sessions, group workshops and the ‘City Ambassador update’ full of valuable resources to help log your off-the-job training hours.
- A Customer Service Level 2 Apprenticeship
- Maths and English Functional Skills for those who do not already hold the equivalent of a GCSE Grade A-C/9-4.
- An introduction and welcome session with the City Ambassador Partners & Southampton City Council.
With this programme, ambassadors will also learn through excursions & experiences around the City, which include:
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- Learning about Southampton’s Culture and Diversity
- Southampton walls and Bargate
- The Sea City Museum
- The Titanic Story
- The City’s Role in WW2 and the Spitfire Makers
- Tudor House and Garden
- St Mary’s Stadium & Southampton Football Club
When does the programme start and how long does it last?
The Apprenticeship is delivered over 13 months with the Southampton knowledge and activities embedded within the programme. There is an End Point Assessment (EPA) which is the final module at the end of all Apprenticeship programmes. This EPA is designed to test the knowledge, skills and behaviours that an apprentice has gained during their training. The EPA will not test Southampton specific knowledge but will focus on the customer service skills of the Apprentice.
What you will City Ambassadors be able to do at the end of the programme?
At the end of the programme each City Ambassador will be an Apprenticeship qualified Customer Service Practitioner.
The role of the customer service practitioner is to deliver high quality products and services to the customers of their organisation. The core responsibilities of a customer service practitioner are to provide a high-quality service to customers which will be delivered from their workplace, digitally or through going out into the customer’s own locality. They may be one-off or routine contacts and include dealing with orders, payments, offering advice, guidance and support, meet-and-greet, sales, fixing problems, after care, service recovery or gaining insight through measuring customer satisfaction. You may be the first point of contact and work in any sector or organisation type.
Your actions will influence the customer experience and their satisfaction with your organisation. You will demonstrate excellent customer service skills and behaviours as well as product and/or service knowledge when delivering to your customers. You provide service in line with the organisation’s customer service standards and strategy and within regulatory requirements. Your customer interactions may cover a wide range of situation and can include face-to-face, telephone, post, email, text and social media. With the City Ambassador programme this also comes with the knowledge of what makes Southampton a great place to live in and to visit.
Personal Attributes & Behaviours expected of all City Ambassadors
- Developing self
Take ownership for keeping your service knowledge and skills up-to-date. Consider personal goals and propose development that would help achieve them. - Being open to feedback
Act on and seek feedback from others to develop or maintain personal service skills and knowledge. - Team working
Frequently and consistently communicate and work with others in the interest of helping customers efficiently. Share personal learning and case studies with others, presenting recommendations, and improvement to support good practice. - Equality – treating all customers as individuals
Treat customers as individuals to provide a personalised customer service experience. Uphold the organisations core values and service culture through your actions. - Presentation – dress code, professional language
Demonstrate personal pride in the job through appropriate dress and positive and confident language. - “Right first time”
Use communication behaviours that establish clearly what each customer requires and manage their expectations. Take ownership from the first contact and then take responsibility for fulfilling your promise.
How is the programme funded?
Employers are entitled to funding from the Government to help pay for Apprenticeship training and the City Ambassador Programme. The cost of the apprenticeship is set by Government and the cost for the Customer Service Practitioner Apprenticeship is £3,500.
If you are an employer who pays the Apprenticeship Levy, the full cost of the programme can be paid through your Apprenticeship Levy.
If you are non-levy payer, the Government will pay 95% of the apprenticeship costs and you as the employer pay a 5% contribution of £175.00 at the start of the programme.
In some cases, funding via Levy Transfer can be arranged to cover the 5% contribution. Contact Kiwi Education for more information.
Course Costs
Maximum Funding
£3,500.00
Non Levy Employer 5% contribution or Employer 5% contribution
£175.00
End Point Assessment Cost (Paid by Kiwi)
£400.00
96
Students saved up to 50% on their fees
96 Students saved up to 50% on their fees
Course content
How will this Apprenticeship assess me?
KNOWLEDGE
- Knowing your customers
Understand who customers are, the difference between internal and external customers and the different needs and priorities of your customers. Understands the best way to manage their expectations, recognising and knowing how to adapt style to be highly effective - Understanding the organisation
Know the purpose of the business and what ‘brand promise’ means including your organisation’s core values and how they link to the service culture. Know the internal policies and procedures, including any complaints processes and digital media policies that are relevant to you and your organisation. - Meeting regulations and legislation
Know the appropriate legislation and regulatory requirements that affect your business including your responsibility in relation to this and how to apply it when delivering service. - Systems and resources
Know how to use systems, equipment and technology to meet the needs of your customers. Understand types of measurement and evaluation tools available to monitor customer service levels. - Your role and responsibility
Understand your role and responsibility within your organisation and the impact of your actions on others. Know the targets and goals you need to deliver against. - Customer experience
Understand how establishing the facts enable you to create a customer focused experience and appropriate response. Understand how to build trust with a customer and why this is important. - Product and service knowledge
Understand the products or services that are available from your organisation and keep up-to-date.
Skills
- Interpersonal skills
Use a range of questioning skills, including listening and responding in a way that builds rapport, determines customer needs and expectations and achieves positive engagement and delivery. - Communication
Depending on your job role and work environment: Use an appropriate ‘tone of voice’ in all communications, including written and digital, that reflect the organisation’s brand. Use appropriate verbal and non-verbal communication skills, along with summarising language during face-to-face communications; and/or Use appropriate communication skills, along with reinforcement techniques (to confirm understanding) during non-facing customer interactions. - Influencing skills
Provide clear explanations and offer options in order to help customers make choices that are mutually beneficial to both the customer and your organisation. - Personal organisation
Be able to organise yourself, prioritise your own workload/activity and work to meet deadlines. - Dealing with customer conflict and challenge
Demonstrate patience and calmness and show you understand the customer’s point of view. Use appropriate sign-posting or resolution to meet your customers needs and manage expectations. Maintain informative communication during service recovery.
OUR PARTNERS
This is a fantastic programme, offering new and exciting opportunities for not only those taking part, but also to the city. It will be great to have city ambassadors promoting everything our diverse, dynamic, creative city has to offer. I wish them every success.
– Southampton City Council
Programme Ambassador: Satvir Kaur
OUR PARTNERS
Southampton has so much to offer, and this Southampton City Ambassador course is a great new initiative to promote the city and help people find out more about Southampton, whether it is hidden heritage, great places to explore or the wonderful green spaces we enjoy!
– Southampton City Council
Programme Ambassador: Sarah Bogle
Enrol and pay now
Maximum Funding
£3,500.00
Non Levy Employer 5% contribution or Employer 5% contribution
£175.00
End Point Assessment Cost (Paid by Kiwi)
£400.00
Total£3,500.00
EnquireAny Questions
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