Apprenticeships

An apprenticeship is a paid job with related training.

There are hundreds of different types of apprenticeships available, at all levels, ranging from Accountancy to Textiles, Engineering to Veterinary Nurse, Business Administration to Construction and Retail.

Key Facts

• All apprenticeships have a training element which can be tailored to individual business need.
• There is no age limit to an apprenticeship, but applicants must live in England, not be in full-time education and must be over 16 years old
• An apprentice must be employed for a minimum of 30 hours per week and their employment must be expected to last for a minimum of one year
• Most of the training will be carried out at your premises. Some may be provided by a local college or by a training organisation
• Apprenticeships are offered at several levels:
  
  • Intermediate Apprenticeship (NVQ Level 2),on completion this is equivalent to 5 GCSEs
  • Advanced Apprenticeship (NVQ Level 3) on completion this is equivalent to 2 A-Levels
  • Higher Apprenticeships – on completion this is equivalent to a foundation degree
  • Degree Apprenticeships
  (The level of an apprenticeship will be determined by the person’s current skills level and experience and by the requirements of the job role)
• Government funding is available to cover part or all of the training costs
• If you have a payroll of more than £3 million then you will pay the Apprenticeship Levy. This is 0.5% of your payroll. You can then use these funds to pay for all the apprenticeship training costs.
• You can use your Apprenticeship Levy to re-train existing staff
• There is no limit to the number of apprentices an employer can take on
Employers are expected to:
• Pay the apprentice’s wage of at least the National Minimum wage of £3.70 (as of May 2018), although many employers chose to pay more
• Offer the standard company staff benefits including pension contributions
• Supply any uniform or specialist equipment required to carry out the role
• Ensure an apprentice has the relevant supervision and support to complete the apprenticeship, the cost of which must be covered by the company. This must include an induction and relevant on the job training
• Provide an apprenticeship agreement (similar to an employment contract) at the start of the apprenticeship

Why You Should Consider an Apprentice

• Apprentices have made an active choice to learn on the job and to make a commitment to a specific career. They can therefore make very loyal employees
• An apprentice can be trained to the standard required by your organisation
• The training you provide is directly relevant to your company and may be fully funded
• Apprentices can act as motivators to existing workforce and can help increase productivity and improve standards
• Apprentices are an ideal way to fill a skills gap or train workers to acquire specialised skills
• Support for you and your apprentice is provided throughout the training period, from initial recruitment through to awarding certificates of achievement

How do You Recruit an Apprentice?

If you would like to recruit an apprentice then the first step is to find a suitable Approved Training Provider who will work with you to oversee and co-ordinate the whole package. The Training Provider will help you to:

• Create a job description, and a person specification
• Advertise and promote your vacancy
• Shortlist and identify suitable applicants for you to interview
• Help you with the interviews, if required
• Draw up the apprenticeship contract
• Enrol your apprentice onto appropriate qualifications at the correct level
• Assess the apprentices progress throughout the contract
• Arrange for end point assessment and certification at the end of the contract

To find a suitable Training Provider visit findapprenticeshiptraining.sfa.bis.gov.uk

Who Can Help You?

Leeds Apprenticeship Hub is part of the Employment and Skills Service within Leeds City Council. They can provide free and impartial information and advice to help you:

• Make the best use of your Levy payments
• Find the right person and the right type of training to suit your needs
• To locate and choose a suitable Training Provider for your opportunity
• To work with your chosen Training Provider to distribute and promote your vacancy across the city, making use of Leeds City Council facilities and their contacts with key partners

Staff at the Hub can be contacted by:

Telephone

Email