Apprenticeship Information for Employers
Hire an Apprentice
Hiring an apprentice, or enrolling a current staff member, is a productive and effective way to grow talent and develop a motivated, skilled and qualified workforce.
- 86% of employers said apprenticeships helped them develop skills relevant to their organisation
- 78% of employers said apprenticeships helped them improve productivity
- 74% of employers said apprenticeships helped them improve the quality of their product or service
Other benefits of working with an apprentice include:
- You can adapt their training according to the needs of your business
- They’re motivated to learn new skills
- You can expand and upskills your workforce
Employer Requirements
When enrolling an apprentice, employers much consider their responsibilities to the apprentice and ensure that they provide the following:
- a contract of employment in line with the Employment Rights Act 1996.
- Agree jointly with Pin-Point Training and the apprentice an Individual Learning Plan to ensure satisfactory progress is maintained. Any changes to the Individual Learning Plan will be agreed by all parties concerned.
- Regularly review the Apprentice’s performance and progress in both workplace and training on a regular basis alongside Pin-Point Training representative.
- Provide the experience, facilities and training necessary to achieve the training objectives specified in the Individual Learning Plan.
- Undertake legal and contractual responsibilities for the health and safety of the Apprentice and provide Pin-Point Training with appropriate evidence of current health and safety assurance when requested.
- Provide a fair and safe working environment, complying with employment legislation for equal opportunities and safeguarding.
- Agree to allow the apprentice to attend Pin-Point Training as identified in the Individual Learning Plan or in other exceptional circumstances to ensure successful achievement of all qualifications.
- Contribute in regular progress reviews, providing appropriate feedback on the apprentice’s development and progress within the workplace.
- Provide at least 20% of the apprentice’s working hours to be used for Off the Job Training.
Funding for Apprenticeships
Employers can get help from the Government to pay for apprenticeship training.
The amount you would receive depends on whether you pay the apprenticeship levy or not. Those with a pay bill of £3million or more each year will pay the apprenticeship levy and therefore the cost of the apprenticeship would be taken in instalments directly from your levy account.
- Levy Paying Employers
As an employer with a pay bill of more than £3 million, you’re required to pay the apprenticeship levy. These funds are reserved solely for the purpose of upskilling staff via apprenticeships and should be used within 24 months if you do not want to lose your investment. You can manage funds using the apprenticeship service and spend it on training or assessing your apprentices.
Click here for FAQs on the Apprenticeship levy.
- Non-levy Paying Employers
As an employer that doesn’t pay the apprenticeship levy, you pay just 5% towards the cost of the apprenticeship. The government will pay the rest.
If you have fewer than 50 employees, the government will pay 100% of the apprenticeship for those aged 16-18, or 19-24 with an education, health and care plan.
- SME’s
The government will currently fully fund up to 5 apprentices for SMEs via the Digital Apprenticeship Service. For more information on this, please contact info.training@pin-point.co.uk where a member of the team will call you to answer any apprenticeship queries.
How does an apprenticeship work?
An apprenticeship is made up of 4 main elements:
- On the job training – delivered by the employer. Training that is directly related to the job role and will support the apprentice to carry out their duties.
- Off the job training – delivered by the training provider within the apprentice’s normal working hours. This training will teach the apprentice all of the skills, knowledge and behaviours as set out in the apprenticeship standard that they are studying towards in order that they achieve occupational competence.
Apprentices must spend at least 20% of their working hours completing off the job training. This is flexible and can be either 1 day per week, blocked out time, a proportion of daily working hours, and will always be arranged with the employer at the beginning of the apprenticeship.
- English and Maths – An apprentice may also need to study for maths and English as part of their apprenticeship if it hasn’t already been achieved at GCSE or equivalent. This training also takes place within normal working hours but is not counted towards the 20% off the job.
- End Point Assessment – EPA is the final assessment of the skills, knowledge and behaviours that the apprentice has learners during their time on programme and is validation of their occupational competence following their learning. Assessments have been designed by employers in the sectors and are conducted by independent bodies know as end point assessment organisations (EPAOs). An apprentice will only get their apprenticeship certificate after passing all elements of their EPA.
For more information on becoming an apprentice or hiring an apprentice/upskilling a current staff member, please visit the apprenticeships.go.uk page.
Incentives for Employers
To help businesses offer new apprenticeships, the ESFA have increased incentive payments for employers hiring a new apprentice from 1 April 2021 – 30 September 2021.
Employers will receive £3000 for new apprentices of any age who join their organisation from 1 April 2021 – 30 September 2021. Apprentices need to commence their learning prior to November 2021.
This is in addition to the £1000 employers already receive for hiring an apprentice:
- Aged 16-18 years old
- Under 25 with an education, health and care plan
These incentives can be used within your business however you deem necessary. For example, towards apprentice wages, internal training improvements, staff development opportunities etc.
Available Apprenticeships
If you would like more information on Pin Point Training’s apprenticeship programmes or discuss delivery models / apprenticeship levy please contact us via the below contact us form.