Apprenticeships combine work with practical, on and off-the-job training and study.

An apprentice is employed, working alongside a mentor to gain the skills, knowledge and behaviours needed to be fully competent in their chosen occupation.

Anyone can become an apprentice at any age and benefit from government funding to support their apprenticeship. This applies whether they’re already employed in your school or not, and whether they are employed full or part-time.

Apprenticeships:

• Are a tried and tested way to recruit new staff that is cost-effective.
• Can be used to retrain and upskill existing staff, or fill a skills gap
• Cover a wide variety of roles in schools, academies and colleges – not just teaching
• Mean current staff gain skills in mentoring and management 
• Create a learning culture to build knowledge, competence and skills in your current workforce

Your apprentice must:

• Work with experienced staff.
• Learn job-specific skills.
• Study during their working week (for example, at a college or training organisation).
• Undertake 20% formal off-the-job training.
• Be provided with the opportunity to practise new skills in a real work environment.

Off-the-job training

All apprenticeships must include six hours off-the-job training minimum per week to reinforce practical, work-based learning with theory. It’s training received by the apprentice, during the apprentice’s regular working hours, for the purpose of achieving their apprenticeship. Contact us to find out more about what this entails and how it is implemented.

Inclusive apprenticeships are flexible, bespoke, “earn while you learn” programmes designed for those with recognised learning difficulties/disabilities.

For learners with a current or historic Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP), Learning Disability Assessment (LDA) or Statement of Educational Need (SEN), inclusive apprenticeships ensure adjustments are made to make them accessible.  

Adjustments can be made regarding both maths and English entry requirements, and working hours/duration of the apprenticeship programme.

Click here to read more about inclusive apprenticeships.

In April 2017, the government changed the way it funds apprenticeships in England. Some employers are now required to contribute to an apprenticeship levy.

Schools with an annual pay bill of £3million pay the levy. Non-levy paying schools can utilise a rate of co-investment whereby the government pays 95% of the cost of eligible training.

If the employer of the staff in your school is a local authority, a governing body which controls more than one school, or a multi-academy trust (MAT) with an annual pay bill of more than £3 million, you may contribute to the levy through them. The annual levy allowance of £15,000 applies to the overall employer.

Employers who pay the levy can use funds to pay for training and assessment costs for apprentices only.

Funds in an apprenticeship service account will expire 24 months after they enter it if unspent. Funds expire on a month-by-month basis.

Voluntary-Aided and Foundation Schools: The governing body is the employer. If the governing body’s pay bill is more than £3 million then it will need to pay the levy.

Community and Voluntary-Controlled Schools: The local authority is the employer, and so is responsible for payment of the apprenticeship levy for schools under their control. Each local authority with a pay bill of over £3 million will pay the levy.

The local authority will advise its schools on whether they need to take account of the apprenticeship levy in their annual budgets. Schools should consider how to make use of the local authority’s levy funds. Local authorities, as the legal employers of staff in community and voluntary-controlled schools, have responsibility for making the necessary arrangements to provide schools with access to the relevant funds. It is in the best interests of schools and local authorities that this process is set out clearly between a local authority and their schools, so that levy funding is managed as effectively as possible. The Local Government Association is working with the Department for Education and the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, to support this process and share best practice. Contact your local authority to find out about accessing levy funds.

Academies incl. Free Schools and Multi-Academy Trusts: The trust is generally the employer of all the academies’ staff. If the trust’s pay bill is more than £3 million then it will need to pay the levy.

If a school becomes a voluntary-aided school, foundation school, free school or academy part of the way through a tax year, the academy’s governing body or trust will be responsible for the apprenticeship levy from this point.

Some school employers (particularly local authorities and multi-academy trusts) may use a pooled PAYE scheme, which is where multiple employers use a single PAYE scheme to report PAYE information to HMRC.

Register for the apprenticeship levy.

Need help and advice? Contact Adam Docherty, Schools Business Manager on 07718 485875 or adam.docherty@ixionholdings.com.

As a national training provider, our experience, expertise and dedication to providing positive outcomes means we are best placed to provide apprenticeships for your business needs across a wide variety of departments within your organisation.

• We will undertake an organisational needs analysis. 
• We provide an Apprenticeship Recruitment Service where we manage vacancies and the recruitment process in line with your requirements.
• We will provide you with a Service Level Agreement.

Organisational Needs Analysis

Working alongside you, we will jointly identify current training opportunities and facilitate future training needs.

Service-Level Agreement

We provide a service level agreement detailing our commitment to you as your training provider.

Total Negotiated Price

The total price agreed between the employer and provider as the cost to the provider for delivery of the apprenticeship programme, to calculate government funding for apprenticeship programmes and to monitor apprenticeship programme costs.

1. Contact us on 01245 254 875 or skills@ixionholdings.com to discuss the job role you’re looking to fill.
2. We’ll help you choose an apprenticeship that matches what your looking at the appropriate level.
3. We’ll check what funding is available to you – this can vary depending on the size of your organisation. Find out more about funding and the apprenticeship levy.
4. As part of our service we provide an apprenticeship recruitment service, which includes screening applicants to ensure they’re the right fit for your business. You then interview and select your apprentice.
5. We will then set up your Service Level Agreement.

In October 2021 the Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak announced that the Government is extending the apprenticeship employer incentives scheme until 31 January 2022.

As an employer if you recruit an apprentice (anyone over the age of 16) you will receive a payment of £3,000 for each NEW apprentice hired.

If you take on a new apprentice aged 16-18 or someone under 25 with an Education, Health and Care Plan you will also receive the existing £1,000 bonus together with the new incentive, totaling £4,000.

The extension is part of a £500m expansion of government action to tackle unemployment and support job seekers following the end of furlough. The package includes the extension of incentive payment for hiring a new apprentice until the end of January 2022. 

Employers will be able to apply for a payment of £3,000 for new apprentices of any age, who have an employment start date between 1 October 2021 and 31 January 2022. 

Claims for apprentices recruited between 1 April and 30 September 2021 need to be submitted no later than 30 November 2021.