Apprenticeships
An apprenticeship is a real job that enables individuals to earn while they learn, gaining valuable skills and knowledge tailored to a specific job role. As an employer, apprentices have a contract with you like any other employee.
Find out how hiring an apprentice can help you to invest in the future by bringing in talent to fit your business needs.
How apprenticeships work
Apprentices typically spend 80% of their time on the job, learning and gaining experience.
The remaining 20% of their time is off-the-job training, which may be conducted at:
- the workplace
- the college
- with a training provider
To be eligible for an apprenticeship in England, you must:
- be 16 or over (or 15 years of age if the apprentice’s 16th birthday is between the last Friday of June and 31 August)
- not already be in full-time education
- live in England
Apprentices can have a previous qualification like a degree and still start an apprenticeship.
Apprenticeships are suitable for any sector. Apprenticeships can be used:
- for all levels of employees from entry through to degree-level
- to retrain and upskill employees as well as new recruits
Each devolved nation has its own apprenticeship programmes, eligibility criteria, and funding rules.
Apprenticeship standards used in England may differ from the frameworks used in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
What the benefits of apprenticeships are for SMEs
Apprenticeships offer a way for SMEs to develop their workforce and contribute to business and economic growth.
Being an apprentice employer means you can:
- reduce your recruitment costs
- build a skilled and motivated workforce tailored to your business
- expand your business
- fill any skill gaps
- increase productivity
- build skills in mentoring, training, and management with current employees
Use apprenticeships to help meet your sustainability goals
Sustainability-focused apprenticeships have the potential to play a central role in meeting Net Zero skills needs and across all sectors of the economy.
According to the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education (IfATE), more than 200 apprenticeships are supporting England’s drive for net-zero carbon emissions by 2050.
Apprenticeships can be used to retrain and upskill employees, particularly those who currently work in high-carbon industries.
Examples of apprenticeships include:
- plumbers
- electricians
- ventilation and heating engineers
- wind turbine maintenance
- engineering technicians
- environmental practitioners
Six green apprenticeships have been hand-picked by industry experts and marked with the Coronation emblem. The emblem signals a gold-standard apprenticeship that will help develop green skills.
These apprenticeships are paving the way for hundreds more environmentally-friendly apprenticeships. They do not have any special funding.
The six apprenticeships are:
- Countryside Worker (level 2) – carrying out specific environmental and conservation tasks
- Forest Craftsperson (level 3) – carrying out the practical operations required to create, maintain and harvest forests and woodlands
- Low Carbon Heating Technician (level 3) – carrying out installation of environmentally friendly heating
- Installation Electrician and Maintenance Electrician (level 3) – installing, maintaining and repairing electrical systems in industrial, commercial and domestic environments
- Sustainability Business Specialist (level 7) – helping organisations to manage the resources they use and the waste they generate according to environmentally friendly principles
- Corporate Responsibility and Sustainability Practitioner (level 4) – being a social conscience for the organisation, helping innovate and drive ambitions for social and environmental change
Find apprenticeship funding and support
You are eligible for government funding, which will pay between 95% and 100% of the apprentice training costs, if you are a smaller employer.
Find out more from GOV.UK about:
- apprenticeship benefits and funding
- who needs to pay Apprenticeship Levy
- how to use the apprenticeship service to access funds to pay for apprenticeship training
- how to get funding for training and assessing apprentices in England in GOV.UK’s 2024-2025 Apprenticeship funding rules