Apprenticeships Suffolk
Who is Apprenticeships Suffolk?
Jointly funded by SCC and the European Social Fund (ESF), Apprenticeships Suffolk is a 3-year project with three specific aims:
- To identify apprenticeship opportunities and match them to the most appropriate young person.
- Provide employer-focused advice and guidance.
- Actively promote apprenticeship opportunities to support employment in Suffolk.
What is an apprenticeship?
- Apprenticeships are a combination of working and studying. An apprentice is an employee, working alongside experienced staff gaining job-specific skills.
- An apprenticeship is for anyone aged 16+.
- They range from Level 2 all the way up to Level 7.
- There are 750 apprenticeship standards.
What are the benefits of recruiting an apprentice?
Hiring an apprentice is a productive and effective way to grow talent and develop a motivated, skilled, and qualified workforce for your business.
- 86% of employers said apprenticeships helped them develop skills relevant to their organisation.
- 78% of employers said apprenticeships helped them improve productivity.
- 74% of employers said apprenticeships helped them improve the quality of their product or service.
What are the current incentives for employing an apprentice?
The government is currently offering employers a £3,000 payment per new apprentice, regardless of an apprentice’s age. On top of this, if your new apprentice is between 16-18 or under 25 with an Education Health Care Plan, you would receive an additional £1,000. Meaning some employers could receive £4,000 in total for employing a new apprentice between 1st April 2021 and 30 September 2021.
Apprenticeships Suffolk is also offering a supportive grant for employers. Access to Apprenticeships is available to SME’s engaging with the Apprenticeships Suffolk service. This grant is designed to remove potential invisible barriers by financially supporting your new apprentice, offering two individual packages each worth £500.
- Package 1 – supports your apprentice with additional equipment.
- Package 2 – provides your apprentice with a wage enhancement which can support with travel costs and subsistence.
What does Apprenticeships Suffolk offer employers?
- Gets to know you and your business’s needs.
- Impartial and bespoke information, advice, and guidance.
- Assistance with selecting your apprenticeship standard.
- Job description support.
- Advertises your vacancy.
- Support you in recruiting your apprentice.
- Advice and guidance for selecting a training provider/college for the apprenticeship delivery.
- Ongoing support for you and your apprentice through the lifetime of the apprenticeship.
Here’s what one of our employers had to say…
“As a new business venture, we had many challenges and time constraints in setting up. We were keen to recruit locally and wanted to formalise the development of our new recruit, by offering a full apprenticeship leading to qualifications. We couldn’t have achieved this without the substantial support provided by the team at Apprenticeships Suffolk. They took time to fully engage with us, responded promptly to any queries and brought a wealth of knowledge and experience to the process of establishing and running the apprenticeship. Their professionalism and support were invaluable to us and very much appreciated.”
For more information visit apprenticeshipssuffolk.org
