10 things you need to know about employing apprentices
Apprenticeships are instrumental to the long term success of businesses across the country. Whether you are looking to hire someone new or develop an existing employee, apprenticeships are an effective means to develop talent and establish a qualified and motivated workforce.
The programmes provide training and upskilling opportunities that are crucial to business growth and sustainability, allowing key knowledge to be passed on to a new generation of staff, and plug future skills gaps.
10 things you need to know about employing apprentices.
1. Apprenticeship Standards
These are the underlying foundations for apprenticeship delivery and there are an eye-watering number of Standards covering every industry imaginable! It is crucial for the Standard to align with the skills and capabilities of the role you wish to employ an apprentice or use with an existing member of staff. Standards are available from level 2 – level 7 and each level has a typical duration. Level 2 for example takes 12-18 months whilst level 3 can take up to 42 months. The apprentice, at the end of the period, must then pass an End Point Assessment (EPA) to complete their programme.
Within an Apprenticeship Standard there are Knoweldge, Skills and Behaviour statements that the apprentice must prove competence against in order to pass their EPA. Some Standards may also have mandated qualifications that must be achieved too.
2. Funding
Employers fall into one of two groups.
Levy payers. Employers with a payroll of more than £3 million per year. You will pay 0.5% of your salary bill into your levy pot and the government will top-up that amount each month by 10%.
Non-levy payers. Employers with a payroll under £3 million per year. The Government will pay 95% of the training cost and you will contribute the remaining 5%, this is called co-investment. For example, co-investment for a level 3 engineering Standard with a funding maximum of £21,000 would be £1050. That’s said, if the apprentice is aged under 21 on the first day of the apprenticeship, the co-investment is removed, and you will not have to contribute any of the funding.
In both cases, funding covers the training of the apprentice and cannot be used for wages, statutory licences to practice, travel and subsidiary costs, work placement programmes or any fees for setting up your apprenticeship scheme.
3. Picking the right Training Provider
All Training Providers work under the same Standards however there are big differences in delivery methods. Each individual Training Provider will work to different levels of engagement with you and the apprentice, work to different levels when making the training bespoke to your business and different levels of support before, during and after the apprenticeship has been delivered. Finding the right Training Provider to partner with is key to ensuring your effort and financial commitment don’t go to waste and your apprenticeship scheme is a success.
You can use the government’s ‘Find apprenticeship training’ website to search for providers who deliver apprenticeships within your industry and area. But before allowing you to narrow the search by location the website will prompt you to select an Apprenticeship Standard. On most occasions, trying to find the exact Standard is a time consuming and a futile exercise. Whereas an apprenticeship provider, with experience of delivering Standards within your industry, will have the information readily available and in all probability, will also have a few options to align the Standard to the work and the role you want to offer. Our advice, prioritise contacting providers as you will find a good provider will engage in a meaningful consultation to assess your needs and to offer an Apprenticeship Standard that meets your criteria.
Here is the link: https://findapprenticeshiptraining.apprenticeships.education.gov.uk/courses
4. Recruitment
Finding the right person to be your apprentice is the most important part of the process. The successful candidate will join your company and move through a training programme that can last 3 years during which they will gain qualifications, become part of your team and become an asset to your business once finished. For the right person, an apprenticeship promotes loyalty and longevity to their employment so, finding the right person who you believe will be a great member of staff in the long-term is crucial.
Most providers will be able to help you with the recruitment, but ultimately it is your choice as to who you employ as your apprentice. It is good to have the Training Provider involved in the recruitment process because a candidate's prior learning and experience has to be taken into consideration when establishing their eligibility for the apprenticeship on offer.
5. Pay
Apprentices are employed by you from day one, are paid a salary, receive employment benefits and are treated like any other employee. As mentioned, the funding does not cover wages and 20% of their paid time must be used for training and learning associated to the apprenticeship. There is a national minimum wage for apprentices will be £7.55 per hour from April 2025 (£14,722.50 based on a 37.5 hour week). This can apply to an apprentice under 19 and those aged 19 or over who are in their first year. Those aged 19 or over must then be paid at least the national minimum wage for their age once they have completed their first year.
We encourage employers to be as competitive with their apprentice wages as possible. Like recruiting for any role, apprentices will look at what you have on offer in terms of role, training, conditions and pay to decide if yours is an apprenticeship they want to apply for or not. It is also a good idea to project what their pay rises could be throughout the apprenticeship as they become more competent and productive for your business, plus also an indication of the wage once the programme is finished is advisable.
6. Apprenticeship Delivery
There are many different providers, each will have a different approach to the way in which they deliver their programmes. Although we all work within the same Apprenticeship Standards, the manner and quality of delivery can differ considerably. Different providers will also have different methods of training the apprentice away from the workplace. Some may deliver via day release, some block release, some online, some face-to-face.
It is important to understand how the provider you select to work with plans to deliver the apprenticeship, where they plan to deliver the apprenticeship and how much support/engagement they will provide you and the apprentice.
If times allows, it is a good idea to procure the apprenticeship provider in the same way that you would for other aspects of your business. Engage with several providers, ask them to set out how they would meet your training needs and what the delivery would look like. You can then go with the provider who best fits your business.
7. Apprentice Mentor
A mentor within a business is an expert in their field who is able and willing to pass on their knowledge and experience to the apprentice. They must be able to monitor an individual’s progress and provide constructive feedback aimed towards further development. Being an apprentice mentor is not just limited to developing a learner’s knowledge and skills in relation to the job they will undertake in the future; they must also support an apprentice's transition into the working environment as many will have come straight from school. This may include helping them to understand how to conduct themselves, work with others and develop confidence in all the areas experienced workers take for granted.
The Mentor doesn’t necessarily have to work with the apprentice all the time. This will depend on the size of your business and the breadth of the apprenticeship programme. In smaller businesses, the apprentice may well work under the mentor all the time. In larger businesses, there is a good chance that the apprenticeship programme will see the person move through several departments and work under many different people within the business. In this case, it is still preferable to have one person centrally who oversees the apprenticeship programme, even if they are not with the apprentice all the time.
8. 20% Off-the-job Training
Every Apprenticeship Standard requires and apprentice to complete ‘of-the-job’ training. The title ‘off-the-job’ (OTJ) can be misleading as all these hours must be complete within the apprentice’s working hours. OTJ is any time when the apprentice is learning new skills, knowledge or behaviours related to the apprenticeship standard.
OTJ in terms of the ‘total minimum off-the-job’ hours will be calculated at 6 hours per week over the term of the apprenticeship minus holiday. Therefore, by way of example. 60 weeks (14 months) on programme. 30.6 days holiday = 6.12 weeks over 3=14 months. 60 – 6.12 = 53.88 eligible weeks. 6 hours x 53.88 weeks = 323.28 hours OTJ minimum requirement.
OTJ hours can be made up of time spent on release to the Training Provider or time in the workplace when they are learning in relation to the apprenticeship and not being productive for you. Examples can including shadowing, practicing skills on a test item or being taught a skill,
9. End Point Assessment
Every Apprenticeship finishes with the apprentice completing an End Point Assessment (EPA). Conducted by a third-party EPA Organisation (unrelated to the Training Provider), this can consist of a project, multiple choice test, workplace observations or a professional discussion supported by the apprentice’s portfolio. You will work with your Training Provider to choose which EPA Organisation you will use and can be selected from a central government register. Together with your Training Provider, you must decide at what point each apprentice is ready to progress through their ‘Final Gateway’ and be put forward for their EPA. The EPA will take place within (roughly) 4 months of the Final Gateway.
10. Contracts
There are several compulsory contracts or agreements that must be in place as set out by the ESFA. You must employ the apprentice and provide them with a Contract of Employment, as you would with an individual you take on.
There are then three other documents that the Training Provider will produce and the parties involved will agree upon. Firstly, and in addition to the Contract of Employment, an Apprenticeship Agreement between you (The Employer) and the Apprentice must be in place to capture the specific requirements needed to fund the apprenticeship. Secondly, a Service Level Agreement between you and the Training Provider setting out how the two parties will work together, what the negotiated price will be, how much funding will be drawn and what will be achieved in terms of apprenticeship training. Thirdly, an Apprenticeship Commitment Statement must be agreed and signed between you, the Apprentice, and the Training Provider. This sets out the specific responsibilities of each party, a learning plan detailing the training and off-the-job hours, recognition of any relevant prior learning and who will be involved in the delivery.
Lastly, you will need a Department for Education Apprenticeship Service Account. This is the platform within which you can arrange for the funding to be allocated to your Training Provider for each apprentice. https://www.gov.uk/guidance/manage-apprenticeship-funds#before-setting-up-your-apprenticeship-service-account