Employer Guide to Apprenticeships

Finding and retaining skilled employees is a challenge many businesses face, but apprenticeship training offers a practical and effective solution. By combining hands-on experience with structured learning, apprenticeships can help businesses build a capable, motivated workforce while addressing skills gaps and fostering long-term growth.

Whether you’re looking to develop existing staff or bring new talent into your team, apprenticeships provide a straightforward way to enhance your workforce and meet the demands of your industry. In this post, we’ll explore what apprenticeships are all about, how they can benefit your organisation and offer insights into making them a valuable part of your recruitment efforts.

What are apprenticeships?

An apprenticeship is a training programme where an apprentice gains practical skills and knowledge by working in a real job, undertaking off-the-job training and studying a nationally recognised apprenticeship programme.

Apprenticeship programmes teach apprentices the necessary skills, knowledge and behaviours they need to succeed in specific job roles, and set them up for future employment and career progression.

At The College of Animal Welfare, we offer apprenticeships in:

We also deliver apprenticeships as part of our Business School. We offer apprenticeships in:

Key Facts about apprenticeships

Apprentices must spend a minimum of 6 hours a week on off-the-job training.
Apprenticeships are not just for new employees – they can also be undertaken by existing staff.
The minimum length of an apprenticeship is 12 months but many last longer than this.
Apprentices can be any age! (as long as they are over 16 years of age)

Who can undertake an apprenticeship?

Contrary to popular belief, apprenticeships are not only for school leavers or younger people. Anyone aged 16 or over can complete the apprenticeship providing they meet the following criteria:

Live in England and spend at least 50% of their working time in England.
Have lived within the EU for at least the last 3 years.
Be employed within a suitable role.

Apprenticeships are also not just for new members of staff, they can also be used by existing employees who wish to undertake new learning and upskill. For example, a more experienced staff member might choose to undertake a leadership and management apprenticeship as part of their professional development, in order to boost their leadership capabilities and pursue higher-level roles in the future.

What are the benefits for employers?

Recruiting an apprentice is an effective way to grow your business and develop skilled, qualified workers:

86% of employers said apprenticeships helped them develop skills relevant to their organisation.*
78% of employers said apprenticeships improved productivity.*
74% of employers said apprenticeships helped them improve the quality of their product or service.*

Other potential benefits include:

Grow your business: Affordable way to expand and develop your business
Cost effective: Provide valuable opportunities whilst minimising recruitment and training costs
Enhanced reputation: Provide client reassurance by investing in trained staff
Increased productivity: Maximise staff efficiency though the development of knowledge and skills

What are the responsibilities of the employer?

As an employer, you play a crucial role in the success of apprenticeship training programmes. When engaging in apprenticeship training, employers need to:

Have a genuine job role available, with a contract of employment long enough for an apprentice to complete their apprenticeship. The role must help the apprentice gain the knowledge and skills they need to achieve the apprenticeship with support from the employer.
Commit to the employment of the apprentice for the full duration of the apprenticeship.
Pay the apprentice the correct wage for their age, for the time they are in work, in off-the-job training and doing further study.

Employers will need to support their apprentice by having an apprenticeship agreement and training plan in place, and by logging updates on progression, weekly hours and any changes to working patterns. The training provider will support the employer in doing this and is available throughout the apprentices’ programme to offer advice and guidance.

What are the costs to the employer?

The employer is responsible for covering apprenticeship fees and cannot ask the apprentice to contribute.

As an employer you will either be an Apprenticeship Levy Payer (employers with over a £3 million pay bill) or Non-Levy Payers (employers with less than a £3 million pay bill).

Employer with less than a £3 million annual pay bill (non levy payers)

For employers with a pay bill of less than £3 million a year, 95% of the employers’ apprenticeship training and assessment costs in England will be paid for by the government. The employer only pays 5% of the apprenticeship costs.

Employer with more than a £3 million annual pay bill (levy payers)

Larger employers (with a payroll of more than £3 million) pay into the apprenticeship levy and will use this money to cover their apprenticeship fees. In England, the government will top up employers’ levy with an extra 10%, paid directly to employers’ digital apprenticeship accounts.

What is the Apprenticeship Levy?

The government apprenticeship levy is a tax paid by employers with a payroll of more than £3 million. The levy is charged at 0.5% of an employer’s total payroll.

It is stored in a fund which can be accessed to help pay for apprenticeship training costs. The levy is designed to help businesses offer more apprenticeships.

What are the financial incentives for employers?

Apprenticeship training offers significant benefits to employers, not only in developing a skilled and motivated workforce but also through financial incentives designed to make the process more affordable. By investing in apprentices, businesses can reduce training costs whilst benefiting from government support and potential funding opportunities.

Below is an overview of the key financial incentives available to employers:

Employers only have to pay apprentices the National Minimum Wage for Apprentices if they are under 19 years of age, and for the first 12 months for anyone over the age of 19 (thereafter the normal national minimum wage applies).* You can choose to pay more if you wish.
Most small to medium sized businesses only pay 5% of the apprenticeship costs, with the government covering the remaining 95%.*
If you take on an apprentice aged 16-18, you could be eligible to receive an incentive payment of £1,000.* What’s more, if your business has less than 50 contracted employees, the course fees for those aged 16-18 may be fully funded!*
At CAW, we can help you recruit, screen candidates and even arrange interviews – for free!

How to recruit an apprentice with CAW

Recruiting a new apprentice

If you are looking to take on a new apprentice, please contact our funding team on funding@caw.ac.uk and we can help you to advertise your vacancy and assist you to recruit your apprentice for free. The process is as follows:

Identify a requirement in your business
Contact CAW to discuss the role.
Provide a job description to advertise the role
CAW advertise your role for free, and undertake free candidate screening if you wish
Select candidates to interview
Recruit your apprentice

Training existing staff

If you are looking to train existing members of staff, your employee will need to select the apprenticeship they are interested in and apply online.

Why choose The College of Animal Welfare as your training provider?

At The College of Animal Welfare, we are passionate about equipping our apprentices with the knowledge, skills, and resources needed to thrive in today’s dynamic business environment and be well-prepared for their chosen careers.

We are a leading UK training provider who specialise in training for the veterinary and animal care sectors. We have been delivering animal care training and supporting employers for over 20 years.

Our courses have been developed in conjunction with employers to ensure we’re reaching the practical knowledge and skills your business really needs.
Experienced tutors are available to support you and your apprentice every step of the way. All of our lecturers come with a strong background in their respective subjects and are passionate about supporting apprentices and their employers.
Many of our courses do not require attendance in college and they can be started at any time! Instead, course materials are provided online and we provide email and telephone support throughout the apprenticeship.
We can help you recruit, screen candidates and even arrange interviews – all for free!
We offer both apprenticeships and accredited qualifications, offering a training option to suit both junior and more experienced staff members.
Many of our courses offer optional units that employees can choose to match their interests and job role, allowing them to tailor their training to your business’ needs.

Apprenticeships offered at The College of Animal Welfare and CAW Business School

Contact us to find out more

If you would like to have an informal, non-obligatory chat, to talk through your options and any concerns/queries, please don’t hesitate to contact our team of Client Advisors. They are here to help and make sure that you choose the apprenticeship that is right for you and your staff members. You can call us on 01480 422060, email us at admin@caw.ac.uk, start a live chat with us, or request a call back on our website.