Hiring an apprentice
Did you know? Almost 9 out of every 10 apprenticeship employers that hope to achieve business benefits, report that apprenticeships deliver.
In fact, hiring an apprentice can bring a wealth of benefits to an organisation from improved productivity to improvements in the quality of their product or services.
What is an apprentice?
An apprentice is an employee aged 16 or over who is learning a job or a trade through a combination of on-the-job training and formal study.
Why hire an apprentice?
“The enthusiasm, energy and dedication of the young people who we have trained, and are currently training with us, is very encouraging and serves as inspiration to all members of the pharmacy team.” – Martin Shepherd, Head of Medicines Management at Chesterfield Royal Hospital.
For more information about employing an apprentice, visit the Government website.
What will it cost us?
You must pay an apprentice at least the minimum wage. However, you can get government funding to cover some of the cost of training and assessing an apprentice if you’re in England.
Have you heard about the Growth and Skills Levy and unsure how it will affect your organisation?
Find more information on apprenticeship funding and support.
What would they do?
An apprenticeship requires an apprentice to learn job-specific skills from experienced staff alongside study during the week. An apprentice will spend 20% of their time undertaking off-the-job training, which may involve attending a college or training organisation one day a week to learn the theory behind the practical things they have worked on throughout the week.
How long does it last?
Apprenticeships can last from 8 months to 5 years, depending on the level the apprentice is studying.
What next?
If you are interested in hiring an apprentice, there are a few steps you need to take.
- Choose an apprenticeship standard for an apprenticeship in your industry and at a suitable level
- Find an organisation that offers training for the apprenticeship framework or standard you’ve chosen – Chesterfield offers many quality providers, including Apprentice Team, Chesterfield College, Juniper Training, University of Derby and Workpays
- Check what apprenticeship funding is available
- Advertise your apprenticeship – your training organisation will do this for you through the find an apprenticeship
- Select your apprentice and make an apprenticeship agreement and commitment statement with them
Further information
If you need any further information about the steps to hiring an apprentice, please contact Emily Williams on 01246 959717 or email info@chesterfield.co.uk.
You may be surprised that a number of local business leaders were also apprentices; hear about their experiences and why they support apprenticeships in Chesterfield.
We also have a guide to useful resources and information that may help you in your decision to hire an apprentice.
