How do I take on an apprentice?

The term apprenticeship refers to the nature of the employment relationship between you and a particular type of worker – an apprentice. An apprentice studies for a work-based qualification whilst in your employment. The different levels of apprenticeships available are:

These levels refer to standards in England. Different organisations deal with apprenticeships in Scotland and apprenticeships in Wales.

There are a number of benefits to hiring an apprentice:

• It’s cost-effective – you’ll only need to pay 5% towards the cost of apprenticeship training and the government will cover the remaining 95% of the funding band maximum (£8,000 per apprentice). You’ll also need to pay the apprentice’s salary too, but you can take advantage of a reduced apprentice rate of pay in their first year – currently £3.90 per hour, rising to £4.15 from April 2020. After that, they must be paid the national minimum wage.
• It increases loyalty – 90% of apprentices stay with the company they trained with after completing their apprenticeship (Source: Apprenticeships.gov.uk).
• It increases productivity – 78% of employers who have invested in apprentices report improved productivity (Source: Apprenticeships.gov.uk).
• It expands your business – if you’re looking to grow the size of your business, it could be a more cost-effective way to do this than through conventional recruitment programmes. 
• It nurtures existing talent –if you have a staff who are already in a role but would benefit from training, it’s a great way to invest in their future. 
• It fills your skills gap – equally, it ensures you have stronger foundations as a result of employing better-equipped staff with sector-specific expertise. 
• It freshens up your workforce – having younger staff members can help to make the office more vibrant as well as bringing a fresh perspective. 

The minimum age for an apprentice is 16 but there’s no upper age limit. The reality is though they are more likely to be at the younger end of the scale. 

Apprentices are governed by standard employment legislation which means you must abide by the legislation around national minimum wage for hours worked. The minimum number of hours an apprentice can work a week is 16, however, on average they usually work for 30.

Paid hours of work include time spent at college or in training as well as actual working hours. They are also entitled to all the paid benefits under the UK employment legislation.

Introduced in 2017, the apprenticeships levy is a mandatory government tax that is payable by all UK employers with a pay bill over £3 million (typically over 250 employees). If your pay bill is under £3 million, you do not have to pay the levy. 

Levy-paying businesses have the opportunity to directly drive the skills and training they need. You’ll be able to access your levy funds via the online Digital Apprenticeship Service (DAS). Through this servive, you’ll be able to access your ‘levy allowance’ of £15,000 to offset against your contribution to apprenticeship training costs. You’ll be able to see how much is in your account and allocate payments to providers of government-approved apprenticeships.

Read further guidance from GOV.UK on how apprenticeship funding works.