Recruit Apprentices and Trainees

Help with offering apprenticeships and traineeships

Advice on how to recruit and employ apprentices and trainees in Gosport – and where you can get support, including funding and financial incentives, to do so.

Traineeships

Traineeships help young people develop the appropriate skills and experience to get an apprenticeship or a job. By providing the work experience they can also help you build a pool of high quality future recruits, plus develop mentoring and coaching skills amongst your existing employees.

As a Government funded training scheme there are no costs to you as an employer and you are not required to pay the young person but may support them with expenses, such as transport and meals.  However once the young person has completed their traineeship you are expected to give them either an interview for a position within your company; or, if no apprenticeship or job opportunity is available, provide an exit interview and written feedback to help them secure employment elsewhere.

Training providers deliver the traineeships that are flexible and tailored to both the needs of the individual and your business. They include a pre-employment training as well as the work experience placement that should be for at least 100 hours over six months.  See the Skills Funding Agency Traineeship Employer Factsheet for more information, which includes supplementary guidance on providing work experience.

The National Apprenticeship Service can help you through the process, find trainees and identify an approved local training provider to offer a traineeship in partnership with them.  For Gosport based employers the nearest ones are:

Both are members of the Gosport Employment and Skills Partnership, although there are other providers in the Portsmouth area.

Apprenticeships

Apprenticeships are organised through the National Apprenticeship Service (NAS) and often follow a period of work experience.  To find out more, in addition to the online content, you can contact NAS on 0800 0150 400.

The Apprenticeship Levy

The way apprenticeships are funded changed in Spring 2017, with some employers now having to pay a new apprenticeship levy.

All employers with an annual pay bill over £3m pay a levy of 0.5% of their total pay bill (minus a ‘levy allowance’ of £15,000).  They will be able to access funding and set up the apprenticeship(s) via a new digital apprenticeship service account.

Employers that do not pay the levy will have to make a 10% contribution to the cost and the government will pay the rest, up to the maximum amount of government funding for that apprenticeship.

For more details see Apprenticeship Levy – how it will work (Government provided information) or contact your apprenticeship training provider.

Funding support and financial incentives

If you take on an apprentice (Government provided information, including a step-by-step guide to hiring an apprentice) you, or your training provider, can get government funding to train them (16-18 year olds 100% funding; 19-23 50%; and 24+ may be eligible). If you are undertaking the training direct (rather than using a training provider) then NAS can advise you on how to access this funding.

However apprentices must be paid and are entitled to the national minimum wage for their normal working hours (minimum 30 hours per week) and training (usually one day a week).  For more details see the government guide for apprentices pay and conditions.

The employment process and support available locally

After registering with the National Apprenticeship Service you will need to find a training organisation that offers apprenticeships and traineeships for your industry.  NAS can help you do this, as well as promote your vacancy but local apprenticeship and traineeship training providers include (website links to either their apprenticeship or employer information related pages):

  • Fareham College offers apprenticeships (Levels 1-4) in subjects including Accountancy; Business Administration; Construction (bricklaying, carpentry and joinery, electrical installation, gas installation, painting and decorating, and plumbing); Childcare/Health; Hospitality and Catering; IT; and Marketing.  Via its new £15m Centre of Excellence in Engineering & Manufacturing Advanced Skills Training (CEMAST) that is based on the Solent Enterprise Zone at Daedalus, it also offers automotiveengineering and manufacturing apprenticeships.  Its partners include BAE Systems, Sapphire, Britten Norman, NATS, Vector Aerospace, GE Aviation, Virgin Atlantic, Turbomeca and Coopervision.
  • Fareport delivers intermediate and advanced apprenticeships in Business and Administration; Customer Service; Retail (including retail management and sales professional); Team Leading and Managment; Warehousing; and Health and Social Care.
  • HIT Training offers intermediate and advanced apprenticeships for the hospitality and care industry including customer service, business administration, reception, chefs, food and beverage service, cleaning, team leading, management and Health & Social Care
  • Paragon Skills for Industry offers apprenticeships in Business Administration; Health and Social Care; Child Care; Customer Service; Distribution and Warehousing; Engineering; Hairdressing; Hospitality and Catering; Motor; and Retail.
  • St Vincent College offers Intermediate (Level 2) and Advanced (L3) apprenticeships including Business and Administration; Children and Young People’s Workforce/Early Years Educator; Customer Service/Retail; Hairdressing; Support Teaching and Learning in Schools; and Health and Social Care.

The training providers can also support you through the process of employing an apprentice (including publicising your vacancy and recruitment) and, where possible, help you access available funding.

If you want to have an apprentice without having to directly employ them, or be responsible for running the apprenticeship scheme, then you can use an Apprenticeship Training Agency (website link to Government provided information).  Apprenticeship Training Agencies with local operations include (website links to employer information related pages):

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