Apprenticeships: Growing your business, one skill at a time

Once upon a time, apprenticeships were just for the likes of carpenters, electricians and plumbers. Nowadays, the choice of courses is far-reaching and covers a wide variety of industries, qualification levels and business opportunities.

Have you ever considered an apprenticeship to help achieve your staffing goals? Perhaps you are looking to recruit fresh talent or upskill your existing staff. This article will outline some of the key points to consider and why investing in an apprentice could be the right move for you and your business.

An apprentice can be anyone aged 16 or over and they can be new or existing staff. This means apprenticeships could be a cost-effective solution if you have longstanding employees requesting training. It could help you retain and reward them for their service ‘without breaking the bank’!

An apprenticeship must last for at least one year but depending on the qualification level, could last up to five years. As an employer, you must pay the apprentice minimum wage, ensure they work with experienced staff and allow time within their working week to complete apprenticeship portfolio work.

The government are keen to help employers set up apprenticeships and so they have provided lots of guidance and templates to make the process easier. You can see a detailed overview of the process here: https://www.gov.uk/employing-a...

Now the important part – how much is this going to cost your business and what funding can you get to invest in up-and-coming apprentices?

Large employers with a payroll of more than £3million must pay an apprenticeship levy. They can get an allowance of £15,000 from this to fund their own apprentices for their training and end-point assessments. The government will add 10% of training costs on top of this.

For small employers, payment into the levy is not required, but the government will fund 95% of the apprentice’s training (up to a funding band maximum). This is paid directly to the training provider, and you must arrange payment to the provider for the remaining 5%. All funding is managed and assigned through an apprenticeship services account.

With everything in life, the advantages must outweigh the cost and the benefits should be weighed up to determine whether this is right for your business. Here are some to consider:

Tailored Training: You can design apprenticeship programs to meet your specific needs, ensuring that apprentices learn the skills and knowledge required for your business. This can help long-term business succession as the apprentices can take on higher-level work specific to your organisation, should senior staff retire/leave.

Funding support: From the government, as discussed above, up to 95%.

Improve recruitment and staff retention: By offering training and progression, you may be able to retain or attract better candidates.

Productivity Dip: Initially, apprentices may not be as productive as experienced employees because they are learning on the job. However, this would be the same for any new starter. If you’re upskilling a current employee, this should not be an issue, but productive time may be lost as they are allowed time out for apprenticeship work.

Regulatory Compliance: Employers need to comply with specific regulations and guidelines related to apprenticeships. Apprentices were once seen as “cheap labour” and so the government have introduced more requirements to pass the apprenticeship to prevent exploitation.

Risk of Apprentices leaving: There is a risk that apprentices, once trained, may leave the organisation to pursue better opportunities, which can result in a loss of investment. Hopefully, the culture you create will prevent this. You must give them the skills so that they can leave but treat them well, so that they’ll stay!