Department For Education
Introduction
This guide explains what an employer needs to do and the things they need to consider if they want to employ an apprentice.
Using the apprenticeship service
All employers must use the apprenticeship service to access apprenticeship training to meet their business needs, filling skills gaps and boosting productivity.
Funding for your apprenticeship
If you pay the apprenticeship levy
Employers have to pay the apprenticeship levy if their annual pay bill is more than 3 million.
If you are a levy-paying employer you need to register for the apprenticeship service so you can manage your apprenticeship funds online. You will be able to pay for training and assessment from your account.
Once the apprenticeship has been confirmed, the government will apply a 10% top-up to the funds you have to spend in your account.
If you dont have enough funds in your account to pay for apprenticeship training, you must pay 5% of any outstanding balance.
The government will pay the remaining 95%, up to the funding band maximum allocated to the apprenticeship you have chosen.
If you exceed the funding band maximum, you will need to pay all the additional costs.
If you do not pay the apprenticeship levy
As a smaller employer, who does not pay the apprenticeship levy, you will need to reserve funds for apprenticeship training in the finance section of your apprenticeship service account. You can also give your training provider permission to reserve funds on your behalf.
We will ask you to make a 5% contribution to the cost of training and the government will pay the remaining 95%, up to the maximum amount of funding allocated to the apprenticeship you have chosen.
If you exceed the funding band maximum, you will need to pay all the additional costs.
You will pay your 5% contribution to your training provider over the lifetime of the apprenticeship training.
There are certain circumstances where the government will fully fund apprenticeship training costs, up to the funding band maximum. More information can be found in the apprenticeship funding rules.
What youll need to reserve funds
To start with you need to create an apprenticeship service account if you do not already have one.
Employers who do not pay the apprenticeship levy can reserve funds up to 3 months in advance of the expected apprenticeship start date.
From 3 April 2023, small employers who do not pay the apprenticeship levy are no longer limited to a maximum of 10 new apprenticeship starts they are able to recruit as many high-quality apprentices as their business needs.
You will need to know:
- which apprenticeship training course the apprentice will be doing
- what month the apprenticeship training will start
Additional funding and support
You could also be eligible for additional funding and support depending on your apprentices circumstances. Find out more from the apprenticeship funding rules.
Employers and apprenticeships: things to check
1. Eligibility of apprentice
Examples include, but are not limited to:
- having the right to work in England
- spending at least 50% of their working hours in England
- being employed by you, a connected company or connected charity as defined by HMRC
2. Agreements to sign
Contract of employment
You must sign a contract of employment with your apprentice. This should give details including:
- pay
- working hours
- working conditions
Apprenticeship agreement
You must sign an apprenticeship agreement with your apprentice at the start of their apprenticeship. This gives details of:
- the skill, trade or occupation the apprentice is being trained for
- the name of the apprenticeship they are working towards
- the dates during which the apprenticeship is expected to take place
- the amount of off-the-job training they will receive
You can write your own apprenticeship agreement or download an apprenticeship agreement template.
Training plan
You must sign a training plan (previously known as a commitment statement) with your apprentice and training provider.
This sets out the training that will be delivered and how you, your training provider and the apprentice will support the successful achievement of the apprenticeship.
You should make sure that the person in your organisation that is managing the apprentice on a day-to-day basis is aware of the content of the training plan and any commitments that have been made.
3. My Apprenticeship Service
You should also make sure that your apprentices have confirmed their apprenticeship details on the my apprenticeship service.
4. Choosing a training provider
The relationship between you and your training provider throughout the apprenticeship is important. Use Find apprenticeship training to search for the right training provider and apprenticeship training courses.
You can also share your interest in a particular apprenticeship training course with all training providers. Training providers are then able to see and respond to the demand for training.
You and your training provider must agree a price for the total cost of each apprenticeship, including the cost of end-point assessment.
If you havent been able to find a suitable training provider for a particular apprenticeship training course, you can share your interest with all training providers.
You or your training provider can use the recruit an apprentice service to advertise apprenticeship job vacancies and manage applications.
5. Types of apprenticeships
Apprenticeships are designed by groups of employers with the support of the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education (IfATE).
You can see the full details of each approved apprenticeship on IfATEs website, including information about the assessment plan and the occupational maps.
Each apprenticeship relates to a specific occupation and shows what an apprentice will be doing and the skills required.
Find apprenticeship training for your apprentice.
To successfully complete an apprenticeship, your apprentice will need to complete an end-point assessment.
6. End-point assessments
End-point assessment (EPA) is an assessment of the knowledge, skills and behaviours that your apprentice has learned throughout an apprenticeship, which confirms that they are occupationally competent.
Assessments have been designed by employers in the sector and are conducted by independent assessment organisations.
Training providers or you (if you have chosen to undertake this role) must select an end-point assessment organisation (EPAO) as soon as possible at the beginning of the apprenticeship.
If your apprentice is working towards an integrated degree apprenticeship the training provider will complete the end-point assessment.
The apprentice will only get their apprenticeship certificate after they have passed all the elements of their EPA, including the required standards of English and maths.
For some apprenticeships, passing the EPA and completing the apprenticeship will als