Why now’s the time to take on an apprentice...

Apprenticeships offer a cost-effective way to take on new employees or upskill existing ones. 

They’re great because once you’ve identified the role or skills you need to add to your business, you can tailor an apprenticeship around those needs, incorporating additional qualifications along the way if you wish.

Employing one or more new starters in apprenticeship roles will allow you to fill gaps and improve your business over time. Apprenticeships are always in demand as they give the employee the chance to earn as they learn and there will be a feeling of loyalty that goes both ways; from the employer who has invested time in company-specific training, and the apprentice who will have gained extensive on the job training and their first step on the career ladder.

Many employers would benefit from taking on an apprentice in the areas of IT and business, two areas that PETA specialise in. Customer service and business administration are two of the main business areas we cover and these can be tailored to fit in completely with the role you have in mind. On the IT side, our apprenticeships could cover roles in software development, network engineering, website design or digital marketing, all of which would be sure to enhance your business and your customer offering.

5 reasons to employ a business or IT apprentice this spring...

You’ll receive a bonus of up to £2,000

The government apprenticeship incentive, which is running until 31 March 2021, offers bonuses of up to £2,000 for each apprentice employed by that date. With just 5 weeks left to take advantage of this fantastic opportunity, make sure your business doesn't miss out.

Until 31 March 2021, any organisation that hires a new apprentice aged 16 to 24 will receive £2,000 for each apprentice they hire (this is in addition to the £1,000 incentive already in place for new 16 to 18 year-old apprentices), offering a potential £3,000 incentive per apprentice. Employers hiring new apprentices aged 25 and over will be paid £1,500 per apprentice.

The payment can be spent on anything to support your organisation’s costs such as uniforms, your apprentice’s travel or their salary and it does not need to be paid back. Although apprentices have to be signed up and to have commenced employment by 31 March 2021 to be eligible, you will have until 30 April 2021 to apply for the incentive.

The COVID effect: use an apprenticeship to upskill existing staff

The global pandemic has had huge effects on many businesses in one way or another. If your company has had to change and adapt to navigate the challenges that COVID has presented over the past year, now is the time to address those changes to ensure your business will thrive going forward.

It may mean that you’ve had to restructure your business or make redundancies in areas that are no longer needed due to the changing marketplace. Whilst this may have been necessary, it may also have left skills gaps as your business had changed to fit the new mould.

If you’re not in a position to take on new staff, you could alternatively opt to direct existing employees down the apprenticeship route, enabling them to learn the skills that your business currently lacks. This way you’d reap the financial rewards of taking on an apprentice, whilst also gaining the skills your company needs.

Shape your business for the future

Now’s the perfect time to sit back, take stock of your business and make some plans for the future. With the furlough scheme due to end on 31 March and the COVID vaccine being steadily rolled out over the coming months, it is hoped that the country will start to reopen and recover as spring sets in.

By taking on an apprentice, you can take control of your organisation’s future once more and shape what it will look like. By investing your time in an apprentice, you can weave new skills into your company and take advantage of the fresh perspective that a new staff member would contribute.

You can tailor an apprenticeship specifically to your business and train your new employee to suit your business needs. You will be providing them with paid, on the job training and qualifications that will stand them in good stead for the future and give you an employee who is enthusiastic and loyal.

The training might not cost you a penny...

Thanks to the Apprenticeship Levy and Co-funded models for smaller businesses, 95% to 100% of the apprentice training costs will be government-funded. This means that training a new member of staff or upskilling an existing one could cost you nothing, or very little, which is a huge incentive.

The Apprenticeship Levy was introduced in 2017 to create national funding for apprenticeships and to enable businesses of all sizes to implement their own apprenticeship programmes. At PETA, we have a highly experienced team on hand to help you manage your apprenticeship funding to ensure you maximise your investment in apprenticeships - get in touch if you’d like to learn more about your options and how we can help.

Flexible training options

At PETA, we always offer flexible training options to suit the requirements of the employers we partner with and in the current climate, this is now more important than ever. As an essential service, we remain open at this time and can offer on-site training at our Portsmouth-based training centre, which is verified as COVID-secure. We have a range of safety and social distancing measures in place to ensure the wellbeing of our staff and learners/delegates.

We can also offer the majority of our training provision in an online capacity via live and pre-recorded videos. Our trainers, tutors and coaches are always on hand to offer assistance where needed and we’ve even been working with accrediting bodies to develop ways to undertake assessments remotely too.

Please don't hesitate to get in touch if you’d like to discuss the training options in more detail.

Why partner with PETA?

If you choose us to be your apprenticeship training partner, we'll provide a comprehensive recruitment service, which includes:

  • Your own recruitment consultant from our experienced engagement team, offering support in candidate selection
  • Full job description and advertisements on national advertising boards, social media and the PETA website
  • Pre-interview selection and candidate screening
  • Interview support and follow-up for candidates and employers
  • Initial assessment of skills, including Maths and English

Find out more about recruiting an apprentice and get in touch to find out more about starting this journey with us...

 

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