Apprenticeships can enhance your business in many ways. Whether you’re helping a current employee gain a new qualification or taking on a young person at the start of their career, the benefits for your business can be significant!
Our sales and delivery team have extensive experience of working with employers and will tailor each programme to suit your needs. We’ll also take the time to understand your business, helping us recruit the best Apprentice for you.
We have over 40 years’ history of delivering Government-funded training, while our Senior Management Team have over 70 years of work-based learning experience between them. Our hand-picked, highly-qualified staff come from backgrounds in management and education.
Our employer satisfaction surveys speak for themselves. In our most recent survey, 100% of employers agreed that:
Our experienced team will be on hand to help you develop support systems for your Apprentices, covering areas including health and safety and general employment practices. We’ll review your Apprentice’s delivery plan and objectives on a regular basis, amending these as necessary to continue to meet your needs.
We know you may have a particular preference when it comes to our programmes, so our flexible delivery methods are designed to suit your business – including day release, onsite training, Skype conferencing, group sessions, and one-to-one sessions.
Our delivery staff will guide you to coach and mentor your Apprentice to aim for a Merit or Distinction. This helps you take a more active role in shaping your Apprentice’s training.
The Apprenticeship Levy – Making the most of government funding changes
From April 2017, all employers with a payroll of over £3m will have to pay an Apprenticeship Levy of 0.5% of their total payroll. This money will be ring-fenced and used for the training of Apprentices. However, funds can only be spent on training from a government-approved training provider, such as Crown Vocational Training.
Levy Payers
If your company will be affected by the Apprenticeship Levy, it’s important to start thinking about how to use those funds to your best advantage. You may wish to use the money to take on new apprentices or to upskill your existing employees.
For full information, you can find out more on the UK Government’s website.
Non-Levy Payer
If you are a Non-Levy Payer (your payroll is less than £3m), you will be able to access funds to subsidise all or most of the funding required to cover Apprenticeship training. This includes training for new Apprentices, as well as upskilling existing employees through an Apprenticeship programme.
In addition, the Government offers a £1000 incentive to all employers for each employed Apprentice aged 16-18.
I’m a Non-Levy Payer. How much will I have to contribute to train an Apprentice?
If you employ between 1 and 49 members of staff, you will pay nothing if your Apprentice is aged 16-18. If your Apprentice is aged 19 years or over, you will be expected to contribute 5% of the training cost. This is taken as an upfront payment, and will be between £150 and £500, dependent on the sector and level of the Apprenticeship.
If you employ 50 members of staff or more, you will be expected to contribute 10% of the training cost, regardless of the age of your Apprentice. Again, this will be taken as an upfront payment, and will be between £200 and £500, dependent on the sector and level of the Apprenticeship.
Are there any subsidies available for taking on an Apprentice?
It’s unlikely that the AGE grant subsidy will be continuing from 1st May 2017, however, the Government will be making an incentive payment of £1,000 available to all employers who recruit a 16-18 year old to an Apprenticeship. This is payable in two instalments with £500 available once the Apprentice has been in-learning for 13 weeks and the remainder payable upon completion.
Do I need to register for a Digital Apprenticeship Account?
If you are an employer with a wage bill of over £3 million a year, from April 2017 you will be required to pay 0.5% of your wage bill into the apprenticeship service. The Government have provided information on how to access and manage your “apprenticeship service” account online. https://www.gov.uk/government/news/registration-open-for-online-apprenticeship-service
What do I need to do to take on an Apprentice?
The process of recruiting an Apprentice couldn’t be simpler. We have put together a useful guide on the process which is available on our website. View guide.
Of course, if you have any questions about what you need to do, you can get in touch with us. Contact Us
