Apprenticeships For Employers

No matter how large or small your organisation, hiring an apprentice is a productive and effective way for any organisation to grow talent and develop a motivated, skilled and qualified workforce.

The benefits to your organisation

86% of employers said apprenticeships developed skills relevant to their organisation and 78% reported improved productivity.

Other benefits that apprenticeships contribute to your organisation include:

• 90% of apprentices stay on in their place of work after completing an apprenticeship
• there’s a wide selection of apprenticeships available, covering a variety of job roles
• you can adapt the training your apprentice receives according to the needs of your organisation
• an apprenticeship allows you to diversify and freshen up your workforce
• you can employ an apprentice who’s aged 16 up to any age and from any background

A bit of background on Apprenticeship Standards if you are new to Apprenticeships

In recent years there have been lots of changes happening to apprenticeships in in response to the government’s plans to create three million new apprenticeships by 2020. From April 2017, Apprenticeship Standards began to replace the Specifications for Apprenticeship Standards in England (SASE) Frameworks. This has been a gradual process and it is expected that all Frameworks will gradually be replaced with Standards by 2020.

As the biggest provider of apprenticeships in the South East Midlands, we can help you understand the changes to apprenticeships and guide you through the process.

Moving from frameworks to standards

Nobody understands the skills employers need better than the employers themselves, that is why standards are created by employers, for employers. Each Standard is represented by a group of employers from the relevant sector who work together to design the Apprenticeship. Standards focus on the outcome of an apprenticeship – they work to ensure that Apprentices develop the skills, knowledge and behaviours directly related to their job roles, their careers and the success of the organisations they work for.

Standards will:

• be job specific
• be clear and concise
• be written by employers
• include an end-point assessment.

Funding

Every apprenticeship is slightly different: Different durations, different content and different delivery methods. Each Apprenticeship Standard has a funding band, that is the maximum amount of funding available for an apprenticeship. Funding bands are subject to change.

In April 2017 the government also introduced a levy on employers with an annual salary bill of more than £3m to create more funds for Apprenticeships. Employers with an annual salary bill of less than £3m will be subject to simplified funding rules.

There will be no age restrictions on who can start an Apprenticeship. There is a government bonus payment of £1,000 for a 16-18 year old apprentices or 19-24 year old apprentice with an Education, Health and Care (EHC) plan.

NEW Employer Incentives for Hiring an Apprentice

From 1^st August 2020 to 31^st January 2021, employers in England taking on new apprentices will now be due a payment of up to £3,000 as part of the Government’s plan to support employers during the economic recovery.

This is a great time to hire a new apprentice! For more information on the new incentive scheme and additional government funding, click here.

How does the Levy work?

• An apprenticeship tax levy of 0.5% is to be paid by employers with a wage bill in excess of £3 million per annum.
• Non-levy paying employers (i.e. those whose wage bill is less than £3 million per annum) will be expected to pay a contribution to help fund their apprenticeship training. The government will pay 95% of the negotiated rate on condition of the employer paying 5%.
• Employers will choose and pay for apprentices’ training and assessment through the online Apprenticeship Service (AS).
• All apprenticeships will last a minimum of 12 months.
• All apprenticeships will have an independent end-point assessment, to ensure the apprentice can do the job they have been trained to do.
• As well as intermediate (level 2) and advanced (level 3) apprenticeships, there will be higher level apprenticeships (levels 4 to 7).

We understand that working out the funding available to your company can be confusing with government support packages constantly under review. We can work with you to find out how to access support available to you to train and invest in your company, maximising the return on the investment that you are making into your workforce.

To find out more about apprenticeships, how to fund them and government incentives available to employers, call our Business Development Team on 01536413542 or email businessdevelopment@tresham.ac.uk