8 things you need to know about employing an Apprentice.

1. Select the right Apprenticeship Standard

These are the underlying foundations from which every apprenticeship is built. There are an eye-watering number of Standards covering every industry imaginable and it is crucial to align the selection with the skills and capabilities of the role you wish to employ and train an apprentice in. Standards are available from level 2 – level 7 and each Standard 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 (see point 10). As an employer, especially if new to apprenticeships, trying to find the exact Standard is a time consuming and a futile exercise. We can make the process far easier. Contact us early in the process, we will consult with you, assess your needs, and advise you on the Apprenticeship Standard options that meet your criteria.

2. Understand the funding

As an Employer, you fall into one of 2 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 Standard with a funding maximum of £21,000 would be £1050. If you employ under 50 people and the apprentice is under 19 on the first day of the apprenticeship then you will be exempt from co-investment.

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. Setting a starting wage

Apprentices are employed by you from day one, are paid a salary, receive benefits and are treated like any other employee. There is a national minimum wage for apprentices of £5.28 per hour from April 2023 which can apply to an apprentice under 19 or 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 you to be as competitive as possible when setting a starting wage for the apprenticeship. 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 they want to apply for your apprenticeship or not. Your role will also be in a marketplace of apprenticeships, sitting alongside those of other employers in your area so setting your wage is important to attract your target candidate for the apprenticeship.

4. Recruitment of an apprentice

Finding the right person is the most important part of the process. As with any recruitment advertising, you will need to write a job description that details the role on offer, the typical duties that will be carried out, the training you will provide and any qualifications, experience or interests that are required/desirable to be considered for the role. Equally, you need to sell your business, why you are a great place to work, the opportunities an apprentice can expect during the apprenticeship and the likely progression within the business once achieved.

We can help you with the recruitment process, posting the role on the ‘Find and apprenticeship’ website and (from 2023) the UCAS website. We also push the roles on our social media channels and at the school engagement events we do throughout the year. It is advisable for you to advertise the role and have a dedicated page on your website highlighting the apprenticeship opportunities available at your business – both past, present, and future. All applications can come via us and we can screen candidates based on your criteria and the funding rules. It is ultimately your choice as to who you employ so shortlisted candidates must pass through your interview process prior to being selected for the role.

5. Apprenticeship Delivery 

There are many different providers, each will have a different approach to the way in which they deliver your apprenticeship programme. 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.

We tailor our apprenticeship delivery to each Apprenticeship Standard and to each employer, depending also on who you select as your apprentice. As part of the consultation process (see point 1), we find out how you work as a business and what your requirements are in terms of the training that needs to take place, the devise a programme that meets your requirements.

6. Apprentice Mentor

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.

It is a good idea to identify who this person could be prior to employing the apprentice.

From our side, we assign a Training Officer to each employer and apprentice. They will conduct official reviews with the apprentice 12 times a year however they are always on hand, either by phone or email should you or the apprentice have any questions.

Most of a review meeting will be completed by the Training Officer and apprentice however you, or a representative who knows the apprentice, are needed for a short period to review, and comment on the apprentice’s progress. This is to ensure that all parties involved in the apprenticeship are clear on the apprentice’s progress towards the targets set from one review to the next and overall, towards the completion of the programme. In addition, we will conduct a more in-depth Gateway review on an annual basis with the final one at the end of the delivery period, signalling that the apprentice is ready for their End Point Assessment

7. Understanding the 20% ‘Off-the-job’ training

Every Apprenticeship Standard requires and apprentice to complete ‘of-the-job’ training. The title ‘off-the-job’ (OTJ) is 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 for a 3 year apprenticeship. 52 weeks per year x 3 = 156 weeks. 28 days holiday = 5.6 weeks per year, 16.8 weeks over 3 years. 156 - 16.8 = 139.2 eligible weeks per year. 6 hours x 139.2 weeks = 835.2 hours OTJ minimum requirement.

OTJ hours can be made up of time spent on release to us at The Engineering Skills Academy or any learning received in-company provided it is not productive for the employer and is related to the apprenticeship e.g. training, shadowing, mentoring, simulation, assignment writing etc.

8. The finish line - 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. Together, we (you the employer and us the training provider) must decide at what point each apprentice is ready to progress through their Final Gateway and be put forward for their EPA. This is the point at which they have achieved any required qualifications and we are satisfied that they are competent against the knoweldge, skills and behaviours set out in the Apprenticeship Standard. The EPA will take place within (roughly) 2-3 months of the Final Gateway.