Apprenticeships allow people of all ages to earn while they learn and gain the skills they need to build a rewarding career. Since 2010, over 5.3 million apprentices have started their apprenticeship journey in a wide range of industries, from health to business, to engineering and beyond. 

Apprenticeships are ‘in-work training programmes’ offered by employers under which the apprentice engages in both on- and off-the-job learning and development activities that will lead to a work-based qualification. 

It is often the case that employers will work with a third-party training provider to deliver the external training element of the apprenticeship course. However, some employers may be able to provide all the apprenticeship training elements in-house and become an approved training provider. 

In all cases, an employer must have a genuine role available during the whole term of the apprenticeship. The term "apprenticeship" is a legally protected term, so employers should advertise roles as apprenticeships only if they are linked to approved standards. 

Some large employers, whose pay bill is more than £3 million will pay an apprenticeship levy and will also have access to a digital account where they can access their levy funds to spend on apprenticeship training. Smaller employers – those with a total annual pay bill of less than £3 million – pay just 5% of the cost of their apprenticeship training and the Government pays the rest. This makes apprenticeships an attractive and cost effective solution for smaller businesses who want to invest in developing their own apprenticeship programmes.

When considering employing an apprentice, all employers must address all these key factors:

• They must have an up-to-date apprenticeship agreement which forms part of a company standard contract of employment. 
  • The contract must reflect current employment law, the contract should be for a fixed period, which is long enough to cover the full apprenticeship period.
  • The minimum duration for an apprenticeship is 12 months, however many apprenticeships will take longer to complete, depending on the content of the qualification. 
  • The apprenticeship contract will have different contractual clauses to a permanent contract of employment and must be drafted carefully.
  • At Kingswood Group, we often see a surge of client requests for apprenticeship contracts of employment around this time of year, as this generally ties into the start of the academic year when many apprenticeship courses begin. 
• The apprentice’s working time must be closely monitored and managed.
  • An apprentice under the age of 18 is classed as a ‘young worker’ and a young worker under the Working Time Regulations are only allowed to work a maximum of 8 hours a day, and no more then 40 hours a week. 
  • A young worker must have a rest break of at least 30 minutes if their working day is longer than 4.5 hours and must have 12 hours rest in a 24 hour period and two days rest to be taken together each week. 
• Funding to pay the apprentice must be in place.
  • An apprentice must be paid for the time in work, and for any off-the-job training. 
  • An apprentice is required to spend at least 20% of their normal working week for the full duration of the apprenticeship in off-the-job training. 
• There must be a genuine role for the apprentice with a productive purpose that allows the apprentice to gain the knowledge, skills and behaviours to complete their apprenticeship.
• There must be appropriate internal support and supervision for the apprentice from an experienced manager or supervisor.
  • Mentoring on-the-job can be effective, as can having regular performance reviews, setting clear objectives and goals, as well as having regular check ins with the apprentice throughout the apprenticeship.

If you are planning to recruit an apprentice and want to explore how to ensure maximum success for your apprenticeship programme, feel free to contact our qualified HR Consultants at Kingswood Group on 01245 204450 for a no obligation conversation.