Off-the-job hours: what counts and how to log them
Off-the-job hours are the new learning you do in your paid working time, away from your day-to-day work. You need about 6 hours a week. You log them in the academy, our learning platform, and an hour counts once it is in Aptem, our programme management system, and your coach has accepted it.
Minimum hours by programme
Your standard sets the minimum, less anything you already know, agreed at your pre-start meeting:
| Programme | Standard | Minimum hours |
|---|---|---|
| AI Transformation (Level 4) | Business analyst | 348 |
| Advanced Data & AI (Data Analyst, Level 4) | Data analyst | 370 |
| Data & AI Strategy or Governance (Level 4) | Data protection and information governance practitioner | 370 |
| Data & AI Essentials (Level 3) | Data technician | 348 |
Your training plan shows your own hours.
A typical week
- Live session (2 hours): with your coach on Teams.
- Monthly project (about 2 hours).
- Other learning (about 2 hours): preparing for and following up sessions, academy courses, shadowing, research, mentoring and relevant meetings.
What doesn't count
- Routine work you would do anyway.
- Anything logged twice.
- Your monthly 1:1 and your progress review with your manager (a project-help call with your coach does count).
- The kick-off, onboarding, initial assessments and English and maths qualifications.
- Evenings and weekends, unless by exception your line manager agrees time off in lieu or paid overtime, with the sign-off attached in Aptem. Most of your learning can't happen this way.
Working hours
They happen in your contracted working hours, and your employer releases the time. If you can't get the time, tell your coach early to agree a plan with your manager.
How to log your hours
- Log your hours in the academy as you go. Your live sessions appear there automatically.
- Log project time on the day you did it, not as one block at the end.
- Your coach will tell you how your hours and monthly project reach Aptem each month, then accepts them or sends them back with feedback.
- Log some off-the-job learning every calendar month. If a month has none, your coach will check in with you.
If you miss a session
Live sessions are mandatory unless you are ill or on leave. If you miss one, watch the recording and upload a screenshot of its end against that session in Aptem; your coach then accepts it for the session's hours.