Employer guide - Planning your apprenticeship

Damar apprenticeships are about driving long-term value and helping your apprentices and your organisation to achieve their potential. Apprenticeships start to make a difference within just a few months, but they are not a quick fix. If you have an individual or individuals in mind, what are their objectives from the apprenticeship? Don’t forget that apprenticeships are a skills development tool for both existing and new employees. 

Read the programme overview shared by our Damar business development colleague. Does the apprenticeship fit the role? Will it meet your objectives? 

• Do you have senior management support for the apprenticeship? 
• Have you identified the apprenticeship supervisor, usually the line manager? 
• Can you commit to giving the apprentice the off-the-job study time they will need? 
• If the apprentice is an existing colleagues, are they committed? 
• Will the apprentice have a safe and supportive working environment? 

An existing or a new colleague can be an apprentice, provided that:  

• The skills needed in their job role match one of the apprenticeship standards that we deliver
• The apprentice’s skills development need is big enough to need the planned training. The amount of off-the-job training varies but most Damar apprenticeships average between six and nine hours a week. Our apprenticeships take from just over a year to about three years (the planned duration is on the programme overview). If your apprentice needs less than six hours per week of off-the-job training (excluding holidays), they are ineligible
• The apprentice works in England for more than 50% of the time
• The apprentice has the right to work in the UK
• The apprentice has a permanent employment contract or a fixed-term contract that is longer than the expected duration of the apprenticeship
• The apprentice works 30 or more hours a week. Part-time employees can be eligible but the programme length and weekly training commitment may differ. Please speak to us if this is the case. 

The good news is that all (or virtually all) of the training and assessment costs are paid via the Apprenticeship Levy or the Department for Education but check the following at this stage:

• Does your organisation pay the Apprenticeship Levy (only for employers with an annual UK payroll of more than £3m)?
• If you do not pay the Apprenticeship Levy, you will need to create an account with the Apprenticeship Service (you may already have one) and reserve funding. 
• Do you have sign-off for the 5% contribution for training (non-Levy payers only, where the apprentice is aged 22 or older) and any additional costs outside the government funding band? 

Your Damar business development colleague will be able to send you a detailed costs breakdown for the apprenticeship, including an estimate of the employer’s national insurance your organisation may save. 

If your apprentice does not already have or cannot evidence GSCEs or equivalent in maths and English (in most cases at grade C/grade 4 or above), they will have to undertake functional skills qualifications as part of their apprenticeship. There is no additional cost for this and our functional skills tutors are specialists who have worked with adults on functional maths and English for many years. It is, therefore, a significant additional benefit to the apprentice and employer. However, there is some further investment of time.  

We want to help you recruit the best candidate for your roles so, if you would like us to help you recruit your apprentice: 

• Consider the job description, salary and benefits
• How can you make the role stand out?
• What opportunities will the apprentice have to progress? 

Please note that we do not promote vacancies at the apprenticeship minimum wage – our team will be able to give you guidance on current market rates for strong apprenticeship candidates, if required.