APPRENTICESHIPS

Taking on an Apprentice

No matter what size of company you have, you are entitled to take on an Apprentice if you have a valid need for that additional job role. Employers are entitled to a £1,000 incentive payment for recruiting a 16-18 year old apprentice or 19-24 year old apprentice with an Education, Health and Care (EHC) plan which is automatically paid to the employer at periodic times throughout the Apprenticeship programme.

The government currently support apprenticeships by funding them up to 100% of the learning costs, depending on age of apprentice and the size of the company. We will work with any employer to inform and agree the apprenticeship training amount which is usually the governments set guide amount for the programme they are enrolling onto.

Small Employers

Employers that have fewer than 50 employees have their apprenticeship fully funded for an apprentice who is under 18 or aged 19-24 with an EHC plan.

For apprentices over the age of 18 employers are required to contribute 5% of the cost of training. We will discuss this in detail with any employers needing to know more information.

Medium Sized Employers

Employers with over 50 employees but have a wage bill of less than £3 million will need to contribute 5% of the cost of training for all apprentices at any age.

Large Employers

Large employers with a wage bill of more than £3 million will be currently paying into an Apprenticeship Levy. The Levy requires employers to pay 0.5% of any wage bill over £3 million into the Government’s apprenticeship service, to pay for apprenticeship course fees. The employer will be able to access the funds they have paid for the cost of apprentice training through their digital account. The Government top-up this amount by an additional 10%. Funds in employers digital account will expire after 24 months if not used.

Further detailed information for employers can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/apprenticeship-funding-rules

Choosing the Right Apprentice for your Business

When it comes to choosing the right apprentice to suit your business we offer complete recruitment support. Whether you have a young person in mind for the role or would like us to find you a suitable candidate, we work with you to ensure the candidate is right for you and your business. Similarly we ensure that the candidate is happy in the business and is wanting to pursue a career in the motor vehicle maintenance and repair industry.

All Apprenticeship applicants undertake a selection assessment with us and are graded for their suitability for the apprenticeship programme. Apprenticeships are a three year programme and are at a level 3 qualification equivalence so we want to ensure that the candidate will be able to progress through the programme successfully before recommending them to employers. The selection usually starts in April each year with a view to programmes starting in September.

Before an apprenticeship starts with you, we conduct a full health and safety check on your premises to ensure the apprentice will be safe and that appropriate insurances etc are in place. If you are interested in taking on an apprentice and would like to find out more, please complete the form at the above link or alternatively call 01482 353022 or email rachael@motortradesgta.org