Apprenticeships Overview
Apprenticeships are an opportunity to attract funding to develop your human resource so that you are equipped to meet the challenge of change, increase productivity, build teams and improve communication, improve customer service etc... all of which impacts the bottom line!
What is an Apprenticeship?
- It is funded by the National Apprenticeship Service, frameworks are fully and partially funded depending on a strict set of criteria.
- It is aimed at anyone aged 16 years and over, living in England and not in full time education.
- It is made up of a framework that includes a competence qualification (such as an NVQ), Key or Functional Skills and, in some cases, a relevant knowledge-based technical certificate.
- It is available at different levels across two hundred different disciplines/sectors.
- It is a taught qualification to obtain the technical knowledge required either in the work place or through day release.
- It provides individually tailored programmes of vocational skills development and assessment through a variety of NVQ optional units designed in consultation with individual organisations and aligned to specific needs and circumstances.
- It is open to staff within Private and Public Sectors.
Facts in Numbers
- 80% of those employers who employ apprentices agree they make their workplace more productive.
- 81% of consumers favour using a company which takes on apprentices.
- The National Minimum Wage for apprentices is £2.60 per hour. Many employers prefer to pay more however, and research shows that the average salary is approx £170 per week.
- Employers who take on an apprentice under the age of 19 only pay their salary. The Government will fund their training.
- There are over 85,000 employers offering Apprenticeships in more than 130,000 locations; there are almost 200 frameworks suitable for hundreds of job roles.
- 88% of employers who employ apprentices believe that Apprenticeships lead to a more motivated and satisfied workforce.
- 83% of employers who employ apprentices rely on their Apprenticeships programme to provide the skilled workers that they need for the future.
- One in five employers are hiring more apprentices to help them through the tough economic climate.