What is the role of the Employer?
Employers are at the centre of apprenticeships. They make the decision to recruit an apprentice to join their workforce and commit to supporting the apprentice to develop their skills and learning, whilst paying for their salaries and any associated costs of the off-the-job training with the training provider.
What does the employer have to do?
*Provide a genuine job with a contract if employment that covers the full duration of the apprenticeship
*Ensure the apprentice undertakes real work, which gives them opportunities to access, develop, practice and evidence the knowledge and skills required to meet the apprenticeship standard.
*Allow the apprentice paid time to attend external off-the-job training and assessments as art of their working hours
*Communicate with the training provider and help to choose the end-point-assessment organisation
*Pay the apprentice a salary (Apprenticeship National Minimum Wage)
*An Apprenticeship Agreement between the employer and the apprentice must be in place
*All apprentices must receive the same benefits as other employees
Benefits of an Apprentice
Secure highly skilled and invested staff
Keep aware of, and aligned with industry standards
Develop and motivate an existing workforce
Enjoy improved performance and results
What is an apprenticeship?
Apprenticeships benefit employers and individuals, and by boosting the skills of the workforce they help to improve economic productivity.
An apprenticeship is a real job with raining, It is a way for individuals to earn while they learn gaining valuable skills and knowledge in a specific job role.
How do they work?
A training organisation-college, training provider or university -will work closely with you to ensure that the apprenticeship offered is the most appropriate for the individual’s job role, whilst reflecting individual employer and learner needs.
Most of the training is on-the-job, working with a mentor to learn job specific skills in a workplace.
Off-the-job training will depend on the occupational area, the training organisation and the requirements and wishes of the employer. This training may be delivered in the workplace, through ‘day release’ or at premises away from the working environment.
On completion of the apprenticeship the apprentice must perform tasks confidently and completely to the standard set by the industry.
Who are they for?
Individuals over the age of 16, living in England and not in full time education can apply for an apprenticeship.
Employers can offer apprenticeships to new entrants or use them to grow talent from among current employees.
The focus of an apprenticeship is to equip individuals with the necessary skills and knowledge required for specific job roles, future employment and progression.
Benefits of hiring apprentices
Hiring apprentices is a productive and effective way for businesses to grow their own talent by developing a motivated, skilled, and qualified workforce. You can employ apprentices at different levels, from school leavers and university graduates, to people wo want to further their careers or change career direction. You can hire someone new or upskill an existing employee.
83% of employers would recommend apprenticeships to others.
The average apprenticeship completer increases business productivity by £214 per week, with these gains including increased profits, lower prices, and better products.
Other benefits that apprenticeships contribute towards include;
*Improving productivity in the workplace
*Increasing employee Satisfaction
*Reducing staff turnover
*Reducing recruitment cost
Training your Apprentice
During their apprenticeship, your apprentice will receive two different types of training.
‘Off-the-job’ training is delivered by a training provider during your apprentice’s normal working hours. This training will teach your apprentice the knowledge, skills and behaviours set out in the apprenticeship standard so they can achieve occupational competence.
‘On-the-job’ training will be delivered by yourself, as the employer. You’ll need to give your apprentice training and supervision to help them perform the job you’ve hired them for.
Off-the-job training
Apprentices must spend at least 20% of their working hours completing off-the-job training.
It can be flexible and doesn’t have to mean 1 day out of the workplace every week.
For example, training could take place;
*Online
*At the apprentice’s place of work
*At a college or university or with a training provider
Or it could be a combination of these option.
The frequency can vary, for example;
*1 day a week
*Part of a working day
*Blocks of time
For instance, some apprenticeships begin with a block training to get the apprentice work-ready.
English & Maths
Your apprentice may also need to study for Maths & English qualifications as part of their apprenticeship. You must allow your apprentice time to study for this within their normal working hours.
Studying for English and Maths is not counted as part of the 20% minimum off-the-job training requirement.
An Apprenticeship Agreement
An apprenticeship agreement is used to confirm individual employment arrangements between the apprentice and the employer. You and your apprentice must sign an apprenticeship agreement.
It includes;
*How long you’ll employ them for
*The training they’ll receive
*Their working condition
*The qualification they are working toward
You can write your own or download an apprenticeship agreement template.
An Apprenticeship Commitment Statement
You must also sign an apprenticeship commitment statement with your apprentice and the raining provider.
It must include;
*The planned content and schedule for training
*What is expected and offered by the employer, the training organisation and the apprentice
*How to resolve queries or complaints.
*You can write your own or use the apprenticeship commitment statement template.
The Levy Explained
The Apprenticeship Levy is a tax introduced as part of the government’s initiative to proactively increase the quantity and improve the quality of apprenticeships. Employers in England can invest this money, along with additional government funding in apprenticeships-according to specific rules.
The government have increased incentive payments for hiring a new apprentice. Employers can apply for a payment of £3000 for new apprentices of any age who have an employment start date of 1st April 2021 to 30th September 2021. They must have an apprenticeship start date of 1st April 2021 to 30th November 2021.
The incentive payment is in addition to the £1000 employers already receive for hiring an apprentice;
*Ages 16 to 18 years old
*Aged 19 to 24 with an education, health, and care plan or who has been in the care of their local authority.
Find out more about financial incentives for hiring a new apprentice or how apprentices are funded.
https://www.apprenticeships.gov.uk/employers/funding-an-apprenticeship
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/incentive-payments-for-hiring-a-new-apprentice
How does it work?
Eligible employers report and pay the levy to HMRC through the PAYE process. Employers in England can then use their individual apprenticeship service account to access funding for apprenticeships, choose approved training providers and manage payments. The government applies a top-up of 10% to the funds that enter the account each month. Funds will expire 24 months after they enter the account unless they are correctly spent on apprenticeships.
Employers who aren’t connected to another company or charity will receive £15,000 allowance to offset the levy payment each year.
What can you buy with it?
*Apprenticeship training and end-point-assessment with a training provider on the Education & Skills Funding Agency’s Register of Apprenticeship Training Providers
*Training must last a minimum of 12 months and 20% of the apprentice’s time must be spent on off-the-job training
*You can only use funds in the account to pay for apprenticeships training and assessments for apprentices that work at least 50% of the time in England, and only up to the funding band maximin for that apprenticeship
The Levy cannot be spent on
*Wages
*Statutory licences to practise
*Travel and subsidiary costs
*Work placement programmes
*The cost of setting up of apprenticeship programme