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Apprentices are aged 16 or over and combine working with studying to gain skills and knowledge in a specific job.

This guidance is for employers in England. There鈥檚 a different way to employ an:

Apprentices can be new or current employees.

You must pay the apprentice at least the minimum wage.

Apprenticeships must last at least a year. They can last up to 5 years depending on the level the apprentice is studying.

Your responsibilities

You鈥檙e responsible for making sure your apprentice:

• works with experienced staff
• learns job-specific skills
• gets time off during their working week for apprenticeship training

Hiring an apprentice

There are several steps to taking on an apprentice.

1. for your business or organisation.

2. for the apprenticeship you鈥檝e chosen.

3. Check what training funding you can get.

4. Create an account - you need this to manage funding and recruit apprentices.

5. Advertise your apprenticeship - find out how to create an advert or give your training provider permission to do this for you.

6. Make an apprenticeship agreement and training plan with your chosen apprentice.

If you do not want to hire and train the apprentice yourself, you can use a flexi-job apprenticeship agency. The apprentice will be employed by the agency but will work in your organisation.

You can get help from the government to pay for apprenticeship training.

You might be able to get an additional payment of 拢1,000, depending on the apprentice you hire.

What funding you can get

You can get money to go towards the cost of training and assessment. The amount you get depends on whether you pay the apprenticeship levy or not.

Find out if you need to pay the apprenticeship levy.

If you do not pay the apprenticeship levy

You pay 5% towards the cost of training and assessing your apprentice. You need to:

• agree a payment schedule with the training provider
• pay them directly for the training

The government will pay the rest (95%) up to the funding band maximum. They鈥檒l pay it directly to the training provider.

If your apprentice started before 1 April 2019, you contribute 10% towards the cost of training and assessing your apprentice and the government pays the rest (90%). This rate continues until your apprentice completes their training.

Use your apprenticeships service account to manage funding and provider payments.

The cost of training and assessing your apprentice could be fully funded, up to the funding band maximum, depending on both your and your apprentice鈥檚 circumstances. Check the funding rules to see if you鈥檙e eligible.

If you pay the apprenticeship levy

You鈥檒l get funds to spend on training and assessing your apprentices. The government will add 10%.

Find out how to pay the apprenticeship levy.

Use your apprenticeships service account to manage funding and provider payments.

You cannot use funds from your apprenticeship service account to pay for a flexi-job apprenticeship agency鈥檚 services.

Help to pay for other costs

You can get 拢1,000 to support your apprentice in the workplace if, at the start of their apprenticeship training, they are one of the following:

• 16 to 18 years old (or 15 years old if the apprentice鈥檚 16th birthday is between the last Friday of June and 31 August)

• 19 to 24 years old with an education, health and care (EHC) plan聽

• 19 to 24 years old and have been in care

You can spend it on any costs related to their employment, for example their salary, travel costs or uniform.

How and when you鈥檒l be paid

The training provider will pay you once they鈥檝e confirmed that an apprentice is eligible. You鈥檒l be paid in 2 instalments of 拢500.

You鈥檒l get the first payment 90 days after the apprenticeship started and the second payment one year after the apprenticeship started. (Training providers must pay you within 30 working days of receiving the money from the government.)

You鈥檒l only get paid if the apprentice is still employed by you when the payment is due.

You need to create an apprenticeships service account. You鈥檒l use this service to:

• advertise apprenticeships
• accept employer agreements with the Department for Education (DfE)
• give account access to people within your organisation
• set permissions for training providers to allow them to do some things on your behalf (such as advertising apprenticeships)

You can also use this service to add details about:

• your organisation(s) or company
• your PAYE scheme
• your apprentices

Before you start

You鈥檒l need either your organisation鈥檚:

• Government Gateway username and ID number
• PAYE scheme reference number and Accounts Office Reference Number (AORN)

You鈥檒l also need to provide your:

• Companies House number, charity number or public body name
• email address
• PAYE scheme details

You must sign an apprenticeship agreement with your apprentice.

This gives details of:

• the skill, trade or occupation the apprentice is being trained for
• the name of the apprenticeship they鈥檙e working towards
• the start and end dates for the apprenticeship
• the amount of training you鈥檒l give them

You can write your own apprentice agreement or download an apprenticeship agreement template.

Training plan

You must sign a training plan with your apprentice and the training provider.

You can write your own plan or use the apprenticeship training plan template.

It must include:

• the planned content and schedule for training
• what is expected and offered by the employer, the training provider and the apprentice
• how to resolve queries or complaints

If the apprentice has relevant experience

Your apprentice could spend less time training or qualify earlier if they have relevant experience. The training provider will tell you which it will be, depending on how the training is delivered.

Relevant experience includes having:

• qualifications, such as a National Vocational Qualification (NVQ) in a relevant subject
• industry or sector experience
• completed training, such as an IT course

If the amount of training is reduced, you must agree this with both the training provider and the apprentice during .

You are responsible for:

• giving your apprentice their contract of employment
• paying your apprentice鈥檚 wage
• signing an apprenticeship agreement

Pay for apprentices

You must pay apprentices at least the National Minimum Wage.

There are different rates of pay for apprentices depending on their age and what year of their apprenticeship they鈥檝e completed.

The contract of employment should make it clear what wage you鈥檒l pay your apprentice and for what hours.

Aged 16 to 18

The current National Minimum Wage rate for an apprentice is 拢7.55 per hour.

Aged 19 or over and in their first year

The current National Minimum Wage rate for an apprentice is 拢7.55 per hour.

Aged 19 or over and have completed their first year

Apprentices will be entitled to the National Minimum Wage or National Living Wage rate for their age.

Conditions

Apprentices must work towards an . Their training must last at least 12 months.

They must be employed in a real job that gives them the opportunity to gain the knowledge and skills they need to pass their assessment.

Training and study

You must pay your apprentice for time spent training or studying for their apprenticeship.

Apprentices must get time off during their working week for apprenticeship training.

The training might take place:

• at their place of work
• somewhere else (for example, a college or training provider)
• online

If your apprentice is also studying for English or maths qualifications required by their apprenticeship, they are entitled to paid study time during their normal working hours.

Employee rights

You must offer apprentices the same conditions as other employees working at similar grades or in similar roles. This includes:

• paid holidays
• sick pay
• any benefits you offer such as childcare voucher schemes
• any support you offer such as coaching or mentoring

Apprentices and redundancy

Apprentices have the same employment rights as your other employees. Follow the process for making staff redundant if you have to make an apprentice redundant.

Get legal advice if you want to end the apprenticeship early for another reason.

Support for apprentices

Your apprentice can get support if they鈥檙e being made redundant or are at risk of redundancy.

They can get:

• financial and legal advice
• support for their health and wellbeing
• help finding another apprenticeship

You can get more information on the .

If you still need help, contact the employer support service.