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Apprenticeships For Employers

Employers – Why work with Craven College?

At Craven College, we strongly believe that Apprenticeships are not only an invaluable first step onto a career ladder for young people but equally, an excellent opportunity for local businesses to grow and develop their own employees and create a more highly skilled workforce who can contribute to their future success. If you are a small business, you may be looking for just one or two individuals to join your team and grow with you, whereas larger employers may be looking at implementing Apprenticeships schemes to maintain a flow of new talent to fit the needs of their development and succession strategies. In either instance, Craven College has many years of experience in offering high-quality Apprenticeship services to employers big or small and will tailor our approach to suit your needs. Our highly experienced Apprenticeship team support employers right through from recruiting keen and enthusiastic local candidates to the achievement of their qualification. We will support you with advice on general employment and Apprentice conditions and visit you for review meetings every 12 weeks. An Apprenticeship Co-ordinator is always available to deal with any issue you may have and we guarantee a professional and prompt service. For more information, please email us at apprenticeships@craven-college.ac.uk or call on 01756 693 681.

Apprenticeship Costings
Apprenticeship Funding
Apprenticeship courses
Apprenticeship Vacancies
Direct GOV - Employer guide

APPRENTICESHIP SUCCESS AT CRAVEN COLLEGE


With approximately 650 Apprentices already participating on a wide range of Apprenticeship programmes and with our excellent success rates, Craven College is one of the largest and most successful providers of Apprenticeships in the North of England

With success rates significantly above the National Average, Craven College have consistently been in the Top 10 providers in the country for the last seven years

In February 2018 Ofsted rated the Apprenticeships provision at Craven College as ‘Outstanding’ for the second consecutive inspection.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
What do I pay an Apprentice?


Apprenticeships represent excellent value for money as they are, in most instances, exempt from National Minimum Wage and National Insurance Contributions at least for the first 12 months of the Apprenticeship. This gives you the opportunity to train and develop Apprentices, ensuring maximum productivity by the end of the programme.

However, you can set your own starting salary over and above the National Minimum Wage for Apprentices based on what you would like to offer. You can even include regular salary reviews based on performance/target setting etc. if you feel it appropriate to do so.

National Minimum Wage inc Apprenticeship rate.

All Apprentices must be in ‘full-employed status’ and as such, need to be employed for at least 30 hours per week (this can include time spent in College). Apprentices are paid for their time spent in College.

What Apprenticeships do Craven College Offer?


Craven College offers a wide range of Apprenticeships which are regularly reviewed to meet local business demand. A full list of our current Apprenticeship provision and costings can be viewed here.

If you are looking for an Apprenticeship that is not listed, please contact us.

What will Craven College do to help me, my business and our Apprentice?


Our comprehensive service will:

  • Offer a wide range of Apprenticeships and help you decide which one best fits your business needs
  • Assign an Apprenticeship Co-ordinator who will be your point of contact right through from recruitment of an Apprentice to the achievement of their qualification
  • Manage the recruitment process and advertise your vacancy, screen all applicants and provide you with a number of suitable candidates for you to shortlist, interview and even trial before appointing someone
  • Plan and design training to meet the needs of your business and those of the individual, providing additional support and bespoke programmes where required
  • Monitor Apprentice progress and provide regular feedback to the individual and the employer at least every 12 weeks
  • Appoint experienced assessors and tutors with excellent knowledge and working experience of the relevant industry to deliver the framework or standard your Apprentice is working towards
  • Organise End Point Assessments
  • Provide ongoing support, information and guidance throughout the process and help any existing staff within your organisation that may benefit from this or other training

Who pays for the training?


Please refer to our information about Apprenticeship Funding

How long will the Apprenticeship take to complete?


An Apprenticeship will usually take anything from 12 to 24 months at Level 2 and a direct Level 3 Advanced Apprenticeship could take up to three years. Higher and Degree Apprenticeships can take anything between 2 to 5 years. The competence based elements are quite flexible and can be fast tracked depending on level of experience and commitment.

To be eligible for an Apprenticeship the candidate must:

  • Be 16 years or over
  • Be employed within the same industry as their chosen Apprenticeship and be working at least 30 hours per week (this can include time spent in training)
  • Be a citizen of the EU or resident in the UK for at least three years
  • Apprenticeships are available to new or existing members of staff

Eligibility for funding will be subject to previous qualifications held. A candidate cannot be funded to do an Apprenticeship if they already hold a similar vocational qualification at the same level or above.

I want to know more, what should I do next?


Contact us to arrange an initial meeting to clarify your needs and enable you to find out more about our Apprenticeships.

Email us at apprenticeships@craven-college.ac.uk or call us on 07156 693 681.