Apprenticeships
Apprenticeships offer employers an effective way to attract new talent, get the skills a business needs now or in the future, or upskill the current workforce.
Whether you're considering taking on your first Apprentice, launching an apprenticeship programme, reviewing your current provision, or if you are a larger business who simply wants more from your apprenticeship levy, we can help.
What is an Apprenticeship?
An apprenticeship is a real job that combines working with studying to gain skills, knowledge and experience in a specific role.
For employers they are an ideal way to make sure they have the skills their business needs. Apprentices can be new or current employees, provided they are aged 16 or above. They can also be part-time employees.
For Apprentices, they can be a great way to start or progress in a career, gain new skills and experience and get qualified up to degree and masters level, all while being paid.
Apprentices must spend some of the normal working hours in what’s called ‘off-the-job’ training and they last for at least a year. They are supported and assessed as part of their apprenticeship.
In most cases 95% of training and assessment costs are met by the Government. This can equate to a government investment of up to £27,000 per apprentice for some higher-level apprenticeships.
About Apprenticeships
Hiring an apprentice is a productive and effective way for any organisation to grow talent and develop a motivated, skilled and qualified workforce.
Employers who have an established apprenticeship programme said productivity in their workplace had improved by 76%, and 75% reported that apprenticeships improved the quality of their product or service.
Other benefits that apprenticeships contribute to your organisation include:
- 90% of apprentices stay on in their place of work after completing an apprenticeship
- there's a wide selection of apprenticeships available, covering lots of different job roles within an organisation
- you can adapt the training your apprentice receives according to the needs of your organisation
- an apprenticeship allows you to diversify and freshen up your workforce
- you can employ an apprentice from 16, up to any age and from any background
- apprenticeships can increase employee satisfaction, reduce staff turnover and reduce recruitment costs
There are hundreds of different Apprenticeships available with new ones being added all the time. There is plenty of help you to find the right apprenticeship to meet your organisational needs.
You can search for all available apprenticeships on the government’s Find Apprenticeship Training website, or you can visit our training provider pages.
When you're looking for an apprenticeship, try to:
- Speak to more than one training provider to discuss what they can offer you and at what price
- Select the right training for your organisation which delivers what you need
- Identify someone within your organisation who will mentor your apprentice and meet with your training provider to discuss their progress and training plan.
- For more helpful guidance and support contact the Cornwall & Isles of Scilly Growth Hub
It is up to the training provider and employer to discuss and agree how the training is delivered. It may include day release, block release, on-site training delivery, online learning or a blended approach.
These include:
- Choosing apprenticeship training to suit an identified job role(s)
- Finding and selecting an organisation that offers training for that apprenticeship
- Checking what funding is available to cover training costs and registering or accessing your Apprenticeship Service account
- Advertising your apprenticeship (your training organisation can do this for you free of charge)
- Selecting your apprentice
Once you are certain you want to hire an apprentice, or train existing members of your workforce, contact the Cornwall & Isles of Scilly Growth Hub, or get in touch with your training provider who can guide you through each of these steps at no cost to you.
Use our step by step guide below to help
-
1
Identify any challenges you face with recruitment and skills gaps within your organisation.
Tip: The Cornwall & Isles of Scilly Skills Hub is there to help explore skills gaps and training needs.
-
2
Use the Government’s ‘Find Apprenticeship Training’ tool to search for available Apprenticeship courses in a wide range of sectors, jobs types and levels.
Tip: Remember, you can also use Apprenticeships to upskill existing members of staff.
-
3
Use the search facility on ‘Find Apprenticeship Training’, to identify possible training providers and visit our Training Provider page.
-
4
Your selected training provider will explain the next steps, any costs to you and what Government or other funding you might receive.
Tip: Most training providers offer a free recruitment service and the Government will fund 95% of Apprenticeship training costs for most businesses.
-
5
The Government has set up a new system for employers to reserve and manage their Apprenticeship funding, find the right training and training providers, advertise, recruit and give feedback on the quality of training.
It’s easy to set up an account Create an account to manage apprenticeships - Manage apprentices (manage-apprenticeships.service.gov.uk)
-
6
If you need to recruit, your training provider can advertise your vacancies and support your recruitment, or you can use your own recruitment and selection process.
OR
Identify existing staff with skills gaps you would like to train.
-
7
Your training provider works with you and your Apprentice to assess any prior learning, skills and experience and develop an individual learning plan. All parties sign the Apprenticeship commitment and agreement and training commences.
-
8
Training provider provides ongoing support to both employer and apprentice throughout the Apprenticeship. Once the Apprenticeship is successfully completed, you’ll have the option to progress your Apprentice onto a higher-level apprenticeship.
Remember to celebrate successful achievement of the Apprenticeship with your Apprentice.
More about employing an apprentice
There are hundreds of different Apprenticeships available with new ones being added all the time. There is plenty of help you to find the right apprenticeship to meet your organisational needs.
You can search for all available apprenticeships on the government’s Find Apprenticeship Training website, or you can visit our training provider pages.
When you're looking for an apprenticeship, try to:
- Speak to more than one training provider to discuss what they can offer you and at what price
- Select the right training for your organisation which delivers what you need
- Identify someone within your organisation who will mentor your apprentice and meet with your training provider to discuss their progress and training plan.
- For more helpful guidance and support contact the Cornwall & Isles of Scilly Growth Hub
It is up to the training provider and employer to discuss and agree how the training is delivered. It may include day release, block release, on-site training delivery, online learning or a blended approach.
You will need to choose a training provider to train your apprentice. You can have more than one training provider if you have more than one apprentice.
The Find Apprenticeship Training website will help you search for a provider by location, job role or keyword.
Your training provider can provide you with as much help and support as you need when you take on an apprentice.
Your training provider will also be able to help with:
- Finding the right apprenticeship for you and recruitment of your apprentice
- Preparing your apprentice for your organisation and help to ensure they are working safely
- Finding the right pace of learning for your apprentice and monitoring their progress
- Working with you to make sure your apprentice is learning relevant skills, knowledge and behaviours
There must be a paid job available with a contract of employment, long enough for an apprentice to complete their apprenticeship.
You need to pay the apprentice a salary that doesn’t go below the minimum wage.
Your apprentice should:
- Work with experienced staff
- Learn job-specific skills
- Spend 20% of their apprenticeship on off the job learning activity
- Receive appropriate mentoring and supervision
The employer must support the apprentice to gain the knowledge, skills and experience they need to gain their apprenticeship.
FAQs
What is an apprenticeship?
An apprenticeship is a real job that combines working with studying to gain skills and knowledge in a specific role. For employers they are an ideal way to make sure they have the skills their business needs.
What’s the age limit for an apprentice?
Apprentices must be aged 16 or over, but there is no upper limit.
Can I use apprenticeships to train existing staff?
Yes. If you need to upskill or reskill current employees, then an apprenticeship could be an ideal way to do it.
How much does it cost?
Provided your wage bill is less than £3 million per year you only pay 5% of the training and assessment costs. The government pays the rest (95%) up to the funding band maximum. There is extra support available for smaller businesses and for employing younger apprentices.