Apprenticeships have evolved in recent years and have become an exciting career opportunity and pathway, benefitting both apprentice and employer.
Apprenticeships are now available from Level 2 up to Level 7, the equivalent to a master’s degree, and are available to anyone from the age of 16.
Apprentice training can bring many benefits to your organisation and a huge return on investment for employers. An apprentice can enter your business as a novice or be an existing member of staff looking to develop skills within your business. Training an apprentice is often more cost effective then hiring skilled staff, leading to lower overall training and recruitment costs. Apprentices are motivated, dedicated members of a team as they learn, earn and gain hands-on experience.
Apprenticeship Levy
The Government introduced the Apprenticeship Levy to improve the quality and quantity of apprentices in England. Apprenticeships benefit employers and individuals by boosting the skills of their workforce and help economic productivity.
Levy
If you are an employer with a pay bill of over £3 million each year, you will be paying the Levy through HMRC. 0.5.% of your wage bill will enter your account each month, with 10% “top up” by the government, and this money can only be used to fund apprenticeship training.
Non-Levy
Employers with 50+ staff but have a wage bill under £3million will need to co-invest 5% of the cost of apprenticeship training and will benefit from government funding to cover the remaining 95% of the cost.
Employers with under 50 employees:
If your apprentice is 16-18 years old, the training will be 100% funded by the government. If your apprentice is 19+ you will need to co-invest 5% of the cost of training and will benefit from government funding to cover 95% of the cost.
Incentives are available for apprentices aged 16-18, and if aged 19-24 and have an Education and Health Care Plan, or are a Care Leaver. The £1000 incentive payment is paid in 2 instalments, at 3 months and 12 months into the training programme.
Apprenticeships with City College Peterborough
Here at City College Peterborough we are very much learner and employer focused. We define apprentice needs, create individualised learning plans and our expert team of highly qualified assessor/trainers will support the apprentice throughout each stage of the learner journey. We work closely with the employer to meet expectations and to enable the learner to gain the knowledge, skills and behaviours required to be fully competent within their role.
At our (November 2016) short OFSTED inspection our strengths were highlighted as:
Very satisfied employers were contacted who talk about receiving “exceptional service”.
Overall, 96% of apprentices remain in employment.
Excellent employer links – meeting skills shortages.
Our Achievement rates are consistently above the national benchmark, recently achieving 90% (February 2019)
We are the preferred training provider for the local authority, supporting Peterborough City Council in using their apprenticeship levy to upskill their existing workforce and develop training opportunities. We are also proactive in securing transfers of levy funding for local small businesses, including childcare and care settings.
We offer a free recruitment service to help you find the right apprentice for your organisation and business needs.
We deliver apprenticeship training across various sectors, including Business Administration and Customer Service, Leadership and Management, Teaching Assistant, Social Media and Marketing and IT Professional, Childcare and Health and Social Care.