Apprenticeships for Businesses

Apprenticeships for Businesses - What are they and what's in it for me?

I firmly believe that a large part of Supplyant's success and rapid growth can be attributed to our use of Apprenticeships

Simon Morton CEO Supplyant Limited

Overview

There were over 161,000 apprenticeships for businesses started in England during 2020/2021.

They are a proven programme that provides people with work relevant skills and qualifications to help you grow your business.

Apprenticeships for businesses provide skilled workers for the future
Apprenticeships for businesses increase staff loyalty and retention
Apprenticeships for businesses increase a company’s bottom line

National Apprenticeship Service data has shown that 81% of consumers favour using a company that takes on apprentices. You can even calculate the return on investment of an apprenticeship on your business on the organisation’s website.

Furthermore, as companies receive funding for each apprentice they take on, it means they don’t have to spend as much to recruit new staff.

Source CMS Vocational Training

What’s in it for me?

86% of employers said apprenticeships for businesses helped them develop skills relevant to their organisation
78% of employers said apprenticeships for businesses helped them improve productivity
74% of employers said apprenticeships for businesses helped them improve the quality of their product or service

Source National Apprenticeship Service.

You can also claim the incentive by hiring an apprentice who has been made redundant.

Apprenticeship Incentive Scheme Payment for Employers

As an employer hiring an apprentice, it will be your responsibility to apply for the Government Apprenticeship incentive payments. This is done using your apprenticeship service account, which you need to have set up before you can make a claim. Any requests after the 15 May 2022 deadline will not be paid.

Payments will be made in 2 equal installments for each apprentice.

To be eligible, the apprentice must complete:

90 days of their apprenticeship for the first payment
365 days of their apprenticeship for the second payment

Payments will be made on the 14th working day of the month, and it can take up to 3 days for the payments to reach bank accounts.

What can the payments be used for?

Unlike the apprenticeship levy funds, this payment can be utilised on anything that supports your organisational costs. For example, uniforms, apprentice’s travel or salary.

The payment is in addition to the existing £1,000 an employer will already get for taking on an apprentice who is either:

aged 16 to 18 years old
under 25 and has an education, health and care plan or has been in the care of their local authority

This £1000 payment will be paid to your training provider, and you will receive it from them.

Can’t find a training provider? Share your interest

If you are struggling to find a provider offering the apprenticeship training you need, you can now fill out a simple online form to share your interest in a particular course with all providers.

You will be notified by email of any providers who are able to support your apprenticeship training request, so you can contact them to discuss. Your contact details will not be shared.

How to share your interest:

search for apprenticeship training using ‘Find apprenticeship training’
enter a town, city or postcode and select ‘View providers for this course’
on the results page, look for ‘Can’t find a training provider?’ and select ‘Share your interest’

Find Apprenticeship Training

Road to a quality apprenticeship – a practical guide

The recently published road to a quality apprenticeship provides information to help you achieve a quality experience for your apprentices while maximising the benefits for your business. Take a look to understand more about your role in the apprenticeship journey.

View Roadmap

Improvements to apprentice onboarding

New apprentices that you add to your apprenticeship service account will receive an email requesting them to review and confirm the details of their apprenticeship. Apprentices will be able to refer back to these details during their apprenticeship. They will also have access to guidance on what is expected of them, their provider and you as their employer. These changes will help to make their apprenticeship a quality experience.

Improvements to apprenticeship training and assessment

Within your account, you will be able to select which version of an apprenticeship standard you would like to be delivered by providers and end-point assessment organisations. This will ensure training matches your business needs and your apprentices receive the right training and assessment.

Improvements to transferring and accessing funding

Employers who pay the apprenticeship levy (those with an annual pay bill of more than £3 million) will be able to pledge unspent levy funds (up to their 25% transfer allowance) to support apprenticeships in other businesses.

All businesses will be able to see these pledges on a public website and apply for funding to pay for 100% of their apprenticeship training and assessment costs (up to the funding band maximum).

What’s my commitment?

To employ an apprentice, you need to check and meet the following terms and conditions.

When offering an apprenticeship for businesses you need to ensure or provide:

They are 16 years old or older by the end of the the first week of September
A safe working environment
They are not in full-time education
Work in a role that is relevant to their apprenticeship
Work enough paid hours each week to undertake sufficient training to achieve their apprenticeship
Minimum 30 hours required each week, which includes off the job training
In conjunction with the training provider, provide individual(s) from your business to provide coaching, mentoring and support

Apprentices can be new employees or current employees already working for you.

We base the minimum duration of each apprenticeship on an apprentice working 30 paid hours a week or more. This includes any ‘off-the-job’ training they do.

Designing the programme

Apprenticeships for businesses combine learning in the workplace with formal off the job training. It enables them to gain the knowledge, skills and behaviours they need to be effective in their current role.

Before proceeding there are two questions that you need to think about.

They are:

Have you identified suitable individual(s) for the apprenticeship(s)?
Do you have a job description for the apprenticeship?

If not, then you will need to create one.

Let’s assume that you answered Yes, to both of the above. Then the process would start where we would contact approved local apprenticeship providers and set up a virtual meeting at a time that suits you.

Off-the-job training means training done by the apprentice that is separate to their normal role.

This can be done at a college or training organisation, on your premises or online, or using a combination of these options.

For some apprenticeships for businesses, your apprentice may need to study for a work-based qualification from GCSE (or equivalent) up to degree level.

At least 20% of an apprentice’s normal working hours must be used for off-the-job training. This ensures your apprentice will have the knowledge, skills and behaviours they need for their chosen occupation.

Your apprentice may also need to study for Maths and English qualifications as part of their apprenticeship. You must allow your apprentice time to study and take part in apprenticeship training within their normal working hours.

You can agree how all of this training will be provided when you choose a training provider. Read our employer guides to support off-the-job training for examples of how this works in practice.

You must:

pay your apprentice at least the National Minimum Wage for apprentices
give your apprentice a job role (or roles) that enables them to gain the knowledge, skills and behaviours they need to achieve their apprenticeship
allow your apprentice to combine learning in the workplace with formal off-the-job training
pay them for the time they are in work and in off-the-job training
give your apprentice a contract of employment that is at least long enough to allow them to complete their apprenticeship successfully

Get started

We specialise in providing access to government programmes to help you grow your business and help the region bounce back.

Digital Future First is a part funded EU project; its partners (Suppylant, DBFB and The Learning & Skills Academy) have access to many projects across the SEMLEP region and are here to support you and your business.

Find out more about Government support

Although, we have access to a range of Government programs and incentives, you may want to look at the Government website.

See guidance and resources on good work experience including:

Get support to deliver work experience for people with learning difficulties or disabilities from:

Access to Work

Fact Checker

1
What's the Scheme?
In 2018/2019 there were over 393,000 apprenticeships for businesses started in England with apprentices taking up intermediate and advanced apprenticeships for over 1,500 different job roles.
They are a proven programme that provides people with work relevant skills and qualifications to help you grow your business.
2
What's in it for me as a Business Owner?
- Straightforward recruitment process with no fees
- 86% of employers said apprenticeships helped them develop skills relevant to their organisation
- 78% of employers said apprenticeships helped them improve productivity
- 74% of employers said apprenticeships helped them improve the quality of their product or service
Source National Apprenticeship Service
3
How do I apply?
Step 1: Firstly, we recommend that you register with us because when you do we'll ensure you are kept in the loop with all the latest Government incentives as they are announced.
Step 2: Once you have registered your business with us you can book your free needs assessment with an Advisor by selecting one of the three durations below, then choose your preferred day and time and we'll do the rest.
4
What's my commitment?
To employ an apprentice, you need to check and meet the following terms and conditions.
When offering an apprenticeship you need to ensure or provide:
- They are 16 years old or older by the end of the the first week of September
- A safe working environment
- They are not in full-time education
- Work in a role that is relevant to their apprenticeship
- Work enough paid hours each week to undertake sufficient training to achieve their apprenticeship
- Minimum 30 hours required each week, which includes off the job training
- In conjunction with the training provider supply individual(s) from your business to facilitate coaching, mentoring and support
Apprentices can be new employees or current employees already working for you.
5
Find out more
Please Contact us to book an appointment with one of our advisors.

Book your meeting with me to find out more about Apprenticeships for Businesses

Additional information

The intention of apprenticeships for businesses

Reduce the number of young people who are unemployed, not in education or in training.

Encourage 16-18 year olds to participate in training and education.

Secure young people’s progression to a positive outcome as quickly as possible

Helping the region bounce back

Speed up business. Reduce Risk.

South-East Midlands Local Enterprise Partnership (SEMLEP)

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Have questions?

Whether you have a question about traineeships, apprenticeships for businesses, training, eCommerce, or anything else, our team is ready to answer all your questions

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01604 679097