Apprenticeships deliver a personalised development programme and provide a work-based route to a skilled occupation with on-the-job training, focussed on job specific skills. It is compulsory that 20% of all training takes place 'off-the-job', e.g. at college or internal staff training. We offer apprenticeships across a number of key sectors, from Level 2 up to Level 5.
The structure of each apprenticeship is broken down into five simple steps – initial assessment, training, gateway, end-point-assessment, completion and certification.
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Our apprenticeship areas
We offer apprenticeships in:
- Accounting
- Brickwork
- Business Administration
- Carpentry and Joinery
- Customer Service
- Early Years Practitioner/Educator
- Electrical Installation
- Engineering
- Fabrication and Welding
- Footwear Manufacturing
- Hairdressing and Barbering
- Management and Team Leading
- Motor Vehicle - Accident Repair
- Motor Vehicle – Light Vehicle and Heavy Vehicle
- Painting and Decorating
These areas are subject to change.
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Entry requirements for apprenticeships
The entry requirements for an apprenticeship are as follows:
- Level 2 Intermediate Apprenticeship Standard - Minimum of grade 3 in GCSE maths AND English or Level 1 Functional Skills (or equivalent)
- Level 3 Advanced Apprenticeship Standard - Minimum of grade 4 in GCSE maths AND English or Level 2 Functional Skills (or equivalent)
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Apprenticeship recruitment
To get you started on your journey with an apprentice, we’re pleased to offer an apprenticeship recruitment service, including:
- A free, no obligation review of your training requirements - where our Business Centre advisors will help you decide on the best apprenticeship for your team.
- Apprenticeship matching service – we carefully look through our database of current and former students to find the perfect fit for you, pairing their skillset with the needs of your business.
- Advertising vacancies – we can advertise any apprenticeship vacancies you have, free of charge.
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Employer incentives
You will need to employ your apprentice on a salary that meets the national minimum wage for Apprenticeships. The cost of training is relative, and considers the size of your business as well as the age of the apprentice.
You will be entitled to a £1000 incentive if you take on an apprentice aged 16-18.
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Small businesses
As a smaller employer, you will need to reserve funds in the 'finance' section of your apprenticeship service account before starting an apprentice.
Smaller employers do not pay the apprenticeship levy, and will share the cost of training and assessing their apprentices with the government. This is called ‘co-investment’. The government has made a commitment to provide 95% of the cost of training an apprentice to businesses that are too small to pay the levy - this means that small employers only pay 5% towards the cost of apprenticeship training. You can pay the difference from your own budget if the price of training is more than the funding band maximum.
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The apprenticeship levy
The apprenticeship levy aims to increase the investment in training by UK employers through Apprenticeships, making it a long term solution to support growth and commitment.
If you are a UK employer with a total employee pay bill* over £3 million a year, you are now required to pay a levy of 0.5% that funds Apprenticeships. This includes public and private sector organisations, education providers and charities.
*Your total employee earnings subject to Class 1 secondary National Insurance contributions. The levy will be deducted monthly in real time reflecting changes to your pay bill.
Employers paying into the apprenticeship levy will benefit from a single fixed £15,000 annual allowance to offset against the levy. Only one allowance may be claimed by any single organisation, even if multiple payrolls are in operation. Employers that are committed to apprenticeships will also receive a 10% ‘top-up’ payment, so that they get out more than they pay in.
Using the levy
Employers who pay the Apprenticeship Levy and provide Apprenticeships will be able to access their Levy contributions as electronic vouchers to pay for training their apprentices using the new Apprenticeships Service. You must spend your electronic vouchers within two years, otherwise the funds can be made available for other employers.
The levy can only be spent on Apprenticeships delivered by an approved and registered training provider. It cannot be spent on any training or CPD, salaries for apprentices, or on the cost of setting up an Apprenticeship.