DERBY COLLEGE APPRENTICESHIPS GUIDE FOR EMPLOYERS Employers say that qualified apprentices are 15% more employable than those with other qualifications

DfE Apprenticeship Core Brief, November 2016 Apprenticeships: an investment in the future

Apprentices can deliver real, measurable benefits – filling your skills gaps while boosting your organisation’s efficiency and competiveness. They are a cost-effective way to invest in your future managers, increase business growth and attract new talent. Apprentices are widely regarded as eager, reliable and loyal – and you can train them to suit your own workplace procedures and systems.

Benefits for your business Support from Derby College With apprenticeships you can: As your apprenticeship training partner, we will: Improve your organisation’s productivity and Help you match the right candidate to the right job performance through better trained staff Assist in developing an individual learning plan for your Solve your staff recruitment and retention problems in apprentice an affordable way Arrange assessment of your apprentice’s competence Recruit to your own job specifications in the workplace Shape and mould a person to your own business Monitor your apprentice’s progress, providing support requirements where necessary Benefit from flexible training which dovetails with your Offer regular and comprehensive feedback working schedules and business needs Provide you with a named College contact Why work with Derby College?

A tradition of excellence Industry-standard facilities One of the largest colleges in the country, we are If your apprentice’s training programme involves attending committed to helping employers invest in a more Derby College, they will discover state-of-the-art specialist professional, skilled and sustainable workforce for the facilities in which to hone their skills. Our resources are future. We pride ourselves on delivering effective skills industry standard and our staff have relevant professional solutions for employers – and apprenticeships form an experience. We will help ensure your apprentice keeps up important part of that work. to date with latest techniques, trends and technologies. We have a wealth of expertise in helping to recruit and train apprentices for vital roles across diverse industry sectors. Support for a wide range of sectors In 2015-16 alone, we supported around 2,200 apprentices Derby College supports apprenticeships in the following – and their employers – to achieve their goals. sectors: Agriculture, Horticulture and Animal Care High-quality programmes Business, Administration and Law We’ve been ranked ‘good’ by Ofsted, with ‘outstanding’ Construction, Planning and the Built Environment features which include our strong employer partnerships. Our latest inspection in March 2016 concluded that our Education and Training apprenticeships were well planned to meet the needs of Engineering and Manufacturing Technologies employers in the region. Health, Public Services and Care Inspectors praised the way we help apprentices progress to sustained employment, promotion and higher levels of Information and Communication Technology responsibility in the workplace. They said: “Apprentices Leisure, Travel and Tourism develop good vocational skills which improve their employability and which contribute to the success of their Retail and Commercial Enterprise employers’ businesses.” Derby College is one of the best further education colleges in the country for plastering and we are delighted to be working with the tutors to provide apprenticeships like Brad’s. Major companies in our industry also tell us how highly they rate the training at Derby College, which is great to know.

Steve Coward, Finishes Manager at The Horbury Group. Horbury has recruited Brad Peters as a plastering apprentice and now plans to add more trade apprentices to its team via Derby College. The company offers apprentices the chance to progress in the business once qualified, including into professional roles such as contracts manager and quantity surveyor.

Apprenticeships boost productivity to businesses by an average of £214 per week

DfE Apprenticeship Core Brief, November 2016 Being able to train apprentices in what we need works well for our business – and it’s 95% of our apprentices good for the apprentices too as there aren’t said they were many people like us offering hands-on jobs in animal care. satisfied with the

Tim Doyle, co-owner of Poochie Play Centre. When the dog day care and hydrotherapy centre was looking for premises, quality of the course it deliberately sought to be within easy reach of the Animal Care courses at Derby College’s Broomfield Hall campus. they undertook The partnership has opened doors to apprenticeships in hydrotherapy, dog grooming and management. Source – 19+ Apprenticeships Where to start

Recruiting and selecting Take action to consider applicants from under- represented groups The recruitment and selection process should help you find Give applicants accurate information about the work apprentices who are best suited to the work and training which they are expected to undertake you can offer. We will provide all the help and advice you need during the recruitment process. But remember: as Treat all candidates fairly and consistently during the the employer, the final decision regarding selection will be selection process yours. Advise us of any existing employees whom you wish to The government offers an unbiased service accessible to train as apprentices all potential apprentices and employers alike. It includes an online Apprenticeship Vacancy service where employers Your commitment can advertise their vacancies and where young people can search and apply for opportunities. At the time of this guide going to print, employers are required to offer a contract of employment for a minimum of Derby College’s role 12 months or the length of the apprenticeship, whichever is greater. We can: We recommend that you pay the wage suggested by the Help advertise your vacancy on the national website government for the apprentice’s specific age range. Advise you on selection methods and assist with interviews if required Carry out an initial assessment of prospective apprentices to determine their current literacy and numeracy skills Growing the business through the apprenticeship route will regenerate our Your role as the employer workforce, bring some fresh blood into You should: the business and address future skills Advise us about the types of positions you are seeking shortages. to fill and the characteristics which potential apprentices require Len Palmer, Operations Director at Lander Automotive, which has teamed up with Derby College Interview a number of applicants and keep us informed and Sigma Group on a workforce solution creating about the outcomes 180 new apprenticeship jobs. How we can help

A partnership that works Attend apprenticeship progress reviews Advise us on workplace training and assessment Derby College will: opportunities that may occur in the period leading up to Keep in regular touch with the apprentices and your the next review organisation Be alert to any problems or difficulties which may be Encourage and motivate apprentices during their facing apprentices and share your concerns with us training programme Help apprentices to find suitable alternatives if they Help apprentices to understand the long-term benefits decide that they are on the wrong training programme of training and qualifications or doing the wrong job You and your organisation should: Help apprentices develop their knowledge and Promoting progression skills by providing a wide range of learning and training An apprentice’s progression is crucial for both the opportunities individual and their organisation. Give apprentices time at work to develop their portfolios Under Skills Funding Agency guidelines, we must review Encourage apprentices to attend and show real interest each apprentice to check that they are getting the most in their off-the-job training out of their training programme. It is therefore important to monitor their progress at regular intervals to ensure Help apprentices put into practice what they have learnt any support needs are identified. This process will be during off-the-job training sessions undertaken in the workplace to ensure minimum disruptions Let us know how the apprentice is progressing in the to your normal working activities. workplace

Apprenticeships and their equivalent educational levels

NAME LEVEL EQUIVALENT EDUCATIONAL LEVEL

Intermediate 2 Five GCSE passes at grades A* to C (9-4)

Advanced 3 Two A-level passes

Higher 4, 5, 6 and 7 Foundation Degree and above

Degree 6 and 7 Bachelors or Masters Degree Taking on apprentices has been a good business move. We have a good working relationship with Derby College and have been able to adapt the techniques taught on their barbering course to suit the needs of our shops.

Casey Foster Miles, a manager at Deakin & White male grooming. The firm took on barbering apprentice Brad Knight at its new barber shop in Ilkeston, and said his presence helped to bring a younger clientele through the door. It has since committed to recruiting further apprentices.

99% of our apprenticeship employers were satisfied with the service they had received Source 16 - 18 Apprenticeships The idea of taking on apprentices is to bring a long-term, skilled workforce to the 100% of employers company, training people who will hopefully said that they would want to stay with us until they retire.

Adrian Baker, Director of Baker Engineering which recommend Derby employed its first apprentice, Pavitar Gill, through a partnership with Derby College. Pavitar embarked on an College to other Engineering course at the College while being trained on manual and CNC machines as part of his apprenticeship. employers Source - Employer Survey The Apprenticeship Levy

Understanding the levy With the new levy coming into effect in April 2017, this is what you and your organisation need to know: The new Apprenticeship Levy requires all employers Your wage bill needs to be in excess of £3 million to operating in the UK which have an annual payroll bill in trigger payment. excess of £3 million to make an investment by training apprentices. The levy rate is 0.5%. Payment is based on your employee earnings (gross) and will be calculated from This will bring our country into line with other modern the same figure used for Class 1 NICs (bonus payments economies, where the co-funding of apprenticeships by the included). interested parties – the employer and the government – is already the standard model. For the under 25 age group, you will no longer have to pay NICs. The Apprenticeship Levy will directly fund apprenticeship training programmes, with the aim of increasing the number of people in apprenticeships to 3 million by 2020. It means Calculating what you have to pay employers can take control of – and benefit from – a further You will pay the levy on your entire pay bill at a rate of £3 billion that will be added to the apprenticeship pot over 0.5%. However, you will have a levy allowance to offset the course of the next five years. against this. The levy allowance is worth £15,000 for each tax year. This means the levy is only payable on pay bills over £3 million (because 0.5% x £3 million = £15,000).

LEVY PAYMENT EXAMPLE LEVY PAYING EMPLOYER NON-LEVY PAYING EMPLOYER

Number of employees 250 100

Average gross salary per employee £20,000 £20,000

Pay bill (number of employees’ x average 250 x £20,000 = £5,000,000 100 x £20,000 = £2,000,000 gross salary per employee)

Levy sum (0.5% x pay bill) £25,000 £0

Less levy allowance of £15,000 -£15,000 N/A

Levy payment by employer £10,000 £0 The Apprenticeship Levy

Maximising your returns Support from Derby College The opportunity to reclaim your levy costs is not to We will support employers to maximise their return on be missed. As long as you are delivering recognised investment. Our dedicated Business Consultants can apprenticeship training, you can take advantage of the provide you and your organisation with the expertise to offer. It comes with the promise that you could get more guide you effortlessly through the new system. out than you put in. We offer: The Apprenticeship Service will ensure that the funding Advice and guidance on the levy process is not open to abuse, so you can be sure that the money you pay as a result of the levy will benefit Training needs analysis organisations committed to apprenticeships. Workforce planning and support Recruitment service for new apprentices Upskilling and reskilling of existing staff

Useful links

For more information on how the levy works: www.gov.uk/government/publications/ We are incredibly impressed with our apprenticeship-levy-how-it-will-work apprentices. They have developed immensely and are making a valuable For more information from Derby College: contribution to our business. Derby www.derby-college.ac.uk/employers/apprenticeship-levy College offers the flexibility and or high quality service to meet our www.levy-apprenticeship.co.uk requirements and a modern learning environment which greatly enhances the apprenticeship programme.

Annabelle Barwick, Project Manager at Derby Homes Digital marketing is a new role for our business and Max’s enthusiasm and skills are the ideal fit for us. I am committed to growing the business through apprenticeship programmes which are the ideal way of recruiting new people who we can train in our core beliefs and ethos.

David Torrington, Managing Director of Sky Recruitment Solutions. The Derby recruitment consultancy has appointed Max Pitt as a digital marketing apprentice. Max is responsible for raising the profile of the company through digital media platforms, with the ultimate aim of progressing into a sales and business development role there.

93% of employers agreed that they would be keeping their apprentice in employment on

COMPLETION Source - Employer Survey I really like to bring apprentices through at the beginning of their careers and help mould Apprenticeships are the way they work into what Alter Rock available in 1,500 job needs. In later life, I hope they’ll look back and think they gained some good vales here. roles, covering more

Garry Jackson, Founder of Alter Rock indoor climbing gym and activity centre. His apprentices undertake a wide range than 170 industries of customer service roles – from meeting and greeting to overseeing climbing groups. DfE Apprenticeship Core Brief, November 2016 There were more than 250,000 employer workplaces with an apprentice in 2014/15

DfE Apprenticeship Core Brief, November 2016 Telephone: 01332 387421 Email: [email protected] Web: www.derby-college.ac.uk/apprenticeships

www.facebook.com/ApprenticeshipsDerby DC_Apprentice 6505.09.16