Apprenticeship Information for Employers

Apprentice Recruitment with Train’d Up (England)

Employing a new member of staff is often a big decision for any company and it can be challenging to find and attract the right candidate. Sourcing CV’s, processing applications, conducting interviews and putting together inductions can take a lot of time away from the business – particularly if you have a lot to filter through multiple applications.

At Train’d Up, we know that the recruitment process for apprentices needs to be just as comprehensive as for any other members of staff – and we are on hand every step of the way in order to ensure the best fit for your business.

With years of experience in placing quality candidates all over the UK, we can assist you with everything you need in order to select an apprentice with the maturity, work ethic and ability to succeed including:

• Job Description creation;
• Advertising the position on our website plus the National Apprenticeship Service Website, major job boards and our multiple Social Media channels;
• Complete processing and administration services including eligibility screening and telephone interviews where required;
• Ensuring that all candidates proposed to you are ready for interview and have received any additional support as required;
• Management and co-ordination of interviews and feedback;
• Sector specific aptitude testing

Apprenticeship Levy (England)

From April 2017 the Government introduced a levy for Apprenticeships. Alongside PAYE contributions, employers with wage bills of more than £3m will now have to pay 0.5% of their wage bill into an electronic account, regardless of whether or not they employ apprentices. The Government will use this to fund the cost of Apprenticeship training and assessment.

For employers with a wage bill of less than £3m other changes are being brought in, including a requirement that, in some cases, employers contribute towards the cost of training and assessment.

How are SME’s affected?

• Smaller employers will have to make a cash contribution towards the cost of training and assessing an apprentice. The Government will pay 95% of the cost with the employer paying 5%.
• However, if the employer has less than 50 staff and they recruit a 16-18 year old apprentice, the Government will pay 100% of the cost of the training and assessment.
• The Government are simplifying Apprenticeship funding by placing every existing Apprenticeship, into one of 15 funding bands, ranging from £1,500 to £27,000.
• This means that employer contributions could be as little as £150 or up to a maximum of £2,700, depending on the type and level of Apprenticeship training.
• All employers, regardless of size, will receive a support payment of £1,000 for employing a 16-18 year old apprentice, even where the Government has funded 100% of training and assessment costs.
• The training provider that an employer works with will also receive an incentive payment of £1,000 from the Government for delivering Apprenticeship training for a 16-18 year old.
• An additional £1,000 support payment will be available to an employer and their training provider if they employ a 19-24 year old apprentice who was formerly in the care of the local authority or who has an Education Health Plan.

How are large employers with wage bills of over £3m affected?

• The employers will pay levy contributions to HMRC on a monthly basis alongside PAYE payments.
• Levy contributions will then be placed into an account on the Digital Apprenticeship Service.
• The employer can access the funds in this account to purchase Apprenticeship training and assessment for their staff.
• If the employer chooses not to purchase Apprenticeship training, their levy contribution will expire 24 months after they are deposited.
• Levy contributions can only be used to pay for the training and assessment of apprentices that work in England.
• The Government will automatically top-up any levy contributions by 10% so that employers get more out than they put in.
• From April 2017 the Digital Apprenticeship Service will provide employers with information on: Apprenticeships that are available; Sourcing approved training providers/colleges; Advertising their Apprenticeships vacancies and Paying for Apprenticeship training using levy funds
• The Government are simplifying Apprenticeship funding by placing every Apprenticeship into one of 15 funding bands, ranging from £1,500 to £27,000.
• All employers will receive an additional support payment of £1,000 for employing an Apprentice who is aged between 16 and 18. The training provider that an employer works with will also receive an incentive payment of £1,000 for delivering Apprenticeship training for 16-18 year old.
• Support payments of £1,000 will also be available to employers who take on a 19-24 year old who was formerly in the care of the local authority or who has an Education Health Plan.

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