Apprentice support
Employing an apprentice
Apprentices (Gov.UK) are aged 16 or over and combine working with studying to gain skills and knowledge in a specific job.
Apprentices can be new or current employees.
You must pay the apprentice at least the minimum wage (Gov.UK).
Your apprentice must:
- work with experienced staff
- learn job-specific skills
- get time for training or study during their working week (at least 20% of their normal working hours)
There are several steps to taking on an apprentice.
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Choose an apprenticeship (Gov.UK) for your business or organisation.
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Find an organisation that offers training (education.gov.uk) for the apprenticeship you've chosen.
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Check what funding is available (Gov.UK) for training and other costs to your organisation.
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Advertise your apprenticeship - you or your training provider can do this through the find an apprenticeship (Gov.UK) service.
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Select your apprentice and make an apprenticeship agreement and commitment statement (Gov.UK) with them.
If you do not want to hire and train the apprentice yourself, you can use an apprenticeship training agency (Gov.UK). The apprentice will be employed by the agency but will work in your organisation.