Many very different organisations, large and small, are finding that apprenticeships are a surprisingly flexible way to expand their businesses. Apprentices are currently working in about 1,500 different job roles in nearly 200 industries, ranging from aviation maintenance mechanic to mortgage adviser.
Sophie Gray of Aviva
“Aviva has always developed people through learning programmes,” says Sophie Gray, apprenticeship lead at Aviva, the largest insurance company in the UK. However, the introduction of the apprenticeship levy in 2017 meant that the company had an increased motive to look at its training policy. This levy, paid by large organisations, has to be spent on apprenticeship training.
It helped us refocus our energy. It gave us more focus on a formal programme rather than the self-designed training we have done in the past”
Joshua, an apprentice at Aviva
She says that at the beginning of January 2020, Aviva had 427 apprentices in 41 schemes across 17 UK locations covering job sectors including insurance, customer services, business analysis and software development. About a quarter of them are new recruits, with the remainder of the existing staff looking to retrain.
Helen Robinson is senior learning and development manager at Dunelm, the home furnishings manufacturer and retailer. She says: “When the apprenticeship levy came in 2017, we thought: ‘It is our money now, how can we use this differently to support our growth strategy?’” The company looked at areas in the business where there had been recruitment challenges or a high staff turnover, or where they had noticed skills gaps. “We were also thinking about how they could complement the internal programmes we were running. That strategy continues,” she says.
The levy fund at Dunelm has been used to help upskill their existing workforce, and cover many areas including hospitality, business leadership, digital marketing, customer services and technology. New colleagues have joined to take up a textiles manufacturing apprenticeship based in Leicester, which leads to having the skills needed to work in manufacturing operations. The company currently has about 170 apprentices.
All companies with a payroll of more than £3m a year have to pay the apprenticeship levy: 0.5% of their payroll costs go towards apprenticeship training. This is paid to HMRC along with PAYE and national insurance. These levy funds – with an additional 10% government contribution – must be used by those employers to train and assess their apprentices. The funds can be used for up to 24 months. Payments go directly to the provider or providers the company has chosen to train their apprentices.
The flexibility to work with different training organisations means that Dunelm can tailor the content of the training to what the workforce and company needs.
The learners can see how training fits into their jobs and their lives. They can apply what they are learning”
“And apprentices even have access to the same staff benefits that everyone else can take advantage of,” says Amanda Thomson, learning and professional development partner at Thames Valley Police (TVP). TVP employs 200 apprentices out of 8,000 employees across a wide range of roles, from intelligence operations to emergency service contact handling. Apprentices have the opportunity to take up other roles in the force once their training is finished.
Thomson says the organisation benefits from having apprentices on board. “Our apprentices bring huge enthusiasm to their roles and new ways of thinking – they are keen to get involved and contribute.” In a new development, TVP is introducing a three-year police constable degree apprenticeship as a route to becoming a police officer, combining on-the-job training and academic study.
Aviva partners with a variety of training bodies – national providers, colleges and universities – depending on their training needs. They also work closely with an account manager from the National Apprenticeship Service. “Some of the [courses] are pretty niche. One of them is about process improvement, and that is only run by one or two providers. Others are national providers and have a large number of programmes that apprentices can join on a rolling basis. Or Aviva may also develop a programme with one provider and deliver it to a specific group,” says Gray.
Apprentices at Resource Productions; CEO Dominique Unsworth (below)
Many organisations that take on apprentices are small business enterprises (SMEs). They do not have to pay the apprenticeship levy but generally contribute 5% towards the costs of training and assessing an apprentice. The government pays the remaining 95% (up to an agreed maximum) directly to the training organisation. Other payments or funding may be available to any organisation taking on apprentices aged 16-24.
Resource Productions is an independent production company based in Slough that makes content for broadcast, commercial clients, charities and councils. They also deliver taster courses and workshops for adults. The company took on its first apprentice in 2009. “As an SME, we make a nominal contribution towards training costs. It could be as little as £600 for a year of training,” says Dominique Unsworth, its CEO. “We have had various subsidies and recently benefited from a levy transfer that came through the BBC. All you have to pay [when taking on an apprentice] is what you would do anyway – pay a salary for that person.”
Three of Resource Productions’ 10 staff members had been apprentices at the company. “Our apprenticeship programme consists of one apprentice every 18 months. That is how we have grown the business,” says Unsworth.
Now, because we have had such a good experience, we always ask if a job role could be an apprenticeship”
“We work in a very niche area, so the idea of being able to train someone formally – as well as getting them to do the role – is what we would have to do anyway,” she says.
Since 2009, Resource Production’s apprenticeships have included community arts, business administration, marketing and communications, and most recently broadcast production assistant. While the field is a competitive one, the company is in a location where these skills are not always available. “We use apprenticeships to find local talent with potential,” she says.
Unsworth remembers that her own first step towards hiring an apprentice was to get in touch with the local business growth hub. She continues to access government help, including the National Apprenticeship Service and the Institute for Apprenticeships. “On a one-to-one level, it is about identifying a local training provider who works well with a small business like ours and then working directly with them. They do a lot of the work for an SME,” she says.
Many larger companies also find that learning what guidance and support is available helps them consider the best ways to proceed.
“Do your research,” says Gray. “Connect with other appropriate-sized companies you work closely with. Be open-minded.”
Fire it up
Engineering, food, fashion – if you can think of it, there’s probably an apprenticeship available. From large corporations to agile startups, everyone’s getting involved. Excited? Visit apprenticeships.gov.uk
