It is a job with a training program where the apprentice gains the knowledge, skills, and behaviour on and off a job and get paid a small wage. All apprenticeship training programmes end in achieving a formal qualification.You can use apprenticeships to upskill your existing workforce or hire new employees for your company
There must be a genuine job available with a contract of employment long enough for an apprentice to complete their apprenticeship. Employers must pay an apprentice’s wages and the role must help them gain the knowledge, skills, and behaviour they need to achieve the apprenticeship with support from the employer.
Apprentices are entitled to apprentice wage rate (£4.15) if they are either
- aged under 19
- aged 19 or over and in the first year of their apprenticeship.
Example: An apprentice with aged 23 in the first year of their apprenticeship is entitled to a minimum hourly rate of £4.15.
Apprentices are entitled to the minimum wage for their age if they both:
- are aged 19 or over
- have completed the first year of their apprenticeship
An employer receives £1,000 for hiring an apprentice:
- aged 16 to 18 years old
- under 25 with an education, health and care plan or has been in the care of their local authority
In addition, Government has promised financial incentives to employers who hire a new apprentice between 1 August 2020 and 31 January 2021 will receive a payment of:
- £2,000 for apprentices aged 16 to 24
- £1,500 for apprentices aged 25 and over
You will get the payment in 2 equal instalments. You will receive 50% after the apprentice completes 90 days of their apprenticeship and the remaining 50% after the apprentice completes 365 days. To receive the full payment, the apprenticeship must last for at least one year.
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.
Apprenticeship is an effective and productive way to grow talent and develop a multi-talented, motivated, and skilled workforce. Following are some known facts about apprenticeships (https://www.apprenticeships.gov.uk/employers/benefits-of-hiring-apprentice#):
- 86% of employers have said that they were able to develop skills relevant to their organisation with the help of apprenticeships.
- 78% employers claimed that apprenticeships improved productivity in their organisations.
- 74% of employers said apprenticeship helped them to increase the quality of their product or service.
Some other benefits include:
- Adapt the training of an apprentice according to your business needs.
- Highly motivated to learn new skills and grow in your company
- Expansion and upskilling of your workforce.
By law, an apprentice must spend 80% of the total working hours on a job and spend at least 20% of their time on off-the-job training. To attract government funding a 20% minimum threshold has been set. This is the minimum amount of time that should be spent on occupational off-the-job training during an apprenticeship. However, they may need more than this if, for example, they need training in English and maths. It is up to the employer and training provider to decide how the off-the-job training is delivered. It may include regular day release, block release and special training days or workshops. It must be directly relevant to the apprenticeship standard.
Example 1: Jennifer is undertaking an apprenticeship in digital marketer and has a contract of employment of working 30 hours a week. To meet statutory requirement her English Employer gives her 6 (20/30 X100) hours a week (20%) off to receive training relevant to digital marketer apprenticeship standard.
Example 2: Sarah is undertaking an apprenticeship in professional accounting. Her
training provider informs her of a lecture taking place on Wednesday evening; this will cover some of the knowledge that is fundamental to the apprenticeship standard that she is working towards. The lecture is taking place outside of Sarah’s core hours of Monday to Friday from 9 am to 5 pm. Sarah’s training provider contacts her employer, and they agree that if Sarah attends the two-hour lecture on Wednesday evening, she can leave two hours early on Friday to make up the time.
The government has set-up funding bands to determine the maximum you can spend on each apprenticeship training course through your digital account and employers who do not pay the levy will pay 5% of the training cost of each apprentice they take on and remaining 95% will be paid by the government.
Example: Emma is undertaking a level 3 retail team leader apprenticeship with a non-levy employer. The government has set maximum funding bands for this apprenticeship training is £5000. The agreed training cost between employer and the training provider decided is £5000. Out of total £5000 training cost, the government will pay £4750 and the employer will pay £250.
Example: Ava is undertaking a level 3 radio network technician apprenticeship with a non-levy employer, ABC limited. The government has set maximum funding bands for this apprenticeship training is £15000. The agreed training cost between employer and the training provider decided is £15000. Out of total £15000 training cost, the government will pay £14250 and the employer will pay £750. ABC limited has used employer incentives to pay £750 which they have had received from the government for hiring an apprentice.
The employers who do not pay the levy can hire up-to 10 apprentices.
Apprenticeships must be at least twelve months long but could last as long as four years depending on the level of qualification you are going to get.
Apprentices get the same working rights and conditions as everyone else
Functional skills form part of all new apprenticeship standards – although learners who already have obtained the level required by the apprenticeship will be exempt from undertaking them. Functional skills qualifications are available in English, ICT, and mathematics at the following levels.
The kingdom college offers apprenticeship training in the following wide areas:
- Business Administration
- Accounting & Finance
- Leadership & Management
- Customer Service
- Health & Social Care
- Childcare
- Digital Skills
- Education & Training
Employers with a pay bill of less than £3 million a year do not need to pay the levy. The government will pay at least 95% of the apprenticeship training and assessment costs of non-levy paying employers.
If you are an employer with a pay bill of more than £3 million a year, you must pay the apprenticeship levy from 6 April 2017. The Levy rate is set at 0.5% of the pay bill. Payments are collected monthly by HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) through Pay as You Earn (PAYE), alongside tax and National Insurance. Apprenticeship levy paying employers can use funds towards the costs of apprenticeship training. They cannot be used on other associated costs such as apprentice wages, travel and subsidiary costs or the costs of setting up an apprenticeship programme.