Employer Advice on the benefits of employing an Apprentice.

As an employer, you can get funding from the government to help pay for apprenticeship training.

Apprenticeships programmes support employers of any size to develop and support new staff. An apprenticeship is the perfect combination of work and education, it is a type of training linked to a profession and it is a great way to gain real-life experience.

Available Apprenticeships 

In 2017 the Government launched a range of new Apprenticeship Standards. These were designed in partnership with Employers to ensure that the programmes were fit for purpose and gave employers the training and skills they required. Consequently, there are now over 700 of these standards with more being developed by employer groups called Trailblazers. The old apprenticeship Frameworks (NVQ Qualifications) have been replaced by these new Standards.  Examples of apprenticeship standards can be found here – Apprenticeship standards / Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education

There are 2 ways to pay for an apprenticeship depending on if you are an apprenticeship levy paying employer or an employer who does not pay into the apprenticeship levy.

The Apprenticeship Levy is a funding avenue put into place to ensure all organisations have access to the training and apprenticeships they require.  Pay Apprenticeship Levy – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).  The process can seem complicated, but London Learning Consortium can help you every step of the way.

In addition, up to 25% of Apprenticeship Levy surplus can be transferred to other organisations. This can really help smaller businesses as it will give them the ability to have more than 10 apprentices and means they will not have to pay the 5% Employer Contribution. Some Local Authorities and Training Providers can help with this process.

If you are a non-levy paying employer, with a pay-bill of under £3 million you will be asked to pay 5% of the apprenticeship qualification.

Non Levy organisations are:-

• Limited to 10 apprentices at any one time
• Required to make a 5% Employer Contribution to the costs of the apprenticeship training, this is paid directly to the Training Provider.

Once set up, the management of the Apprenticeship Levy is not complicated, and the payments are automatic. While the training continues there is no requirement for any input from employers.

Basic rules of apprenticeships

• The minimum term for any apprenticeship is 12 months.
• Apprenticeships are not complete until the independent End Point Assessment (EPA) is completed. This is not performed by your training provider but by an independent organisation approved to perform this role by the Government using the Register of Approved Assessment Organisations (RoAAO) and all approved organisations can be found on the Institute of Apprenticeships website.
• Anyone over the age of 16 is eligible for an apprenticeship, as long as they are in work and their contract is for longer than the duration of the apprenticeship
• Apprentices are required to either have, or achieve, a Level 1 or Level 2 in English and Maths (called Functional Skills) during the apprenticeship. This will be delivered by your training provider and is funded outside of the Apprenticeship Levy.
• Each Apprentice is required to spend 20% of their working time on training; this is called Off-The-Job training. Paid time to do things like being mentored, shadowing, online learning, webinars etc, you may find the person does a lot of this already so that can be used.
• All learning must take place during the Apprentices paid working hours.
• Apprenticeships can be delivered on-site, online, at the Training Providers location or a mixture of both. You will need to decide which is the best for you.

Incentives 

From 11 January 2022 employers can apply for a payment of £3,000 for new apprentices with an employment start date from 1 October 2021 to 31 January 2022.

The payment is different to apprenticeship levy funds, so you can spend it on anything to support your organisation’s costs. For example, on uniforms, your apprentice’s travel or their salary. You do not have to pay it back.

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.

If you are an Employer considering employing an Apprentice and would be committed to supporting them in their progress within a profession or trade, please contact Southwark Works to find out how we can assist.