Benefits of Apprenticeships

Offering an apprenticeship opportunity within your business is a great way to support and develop local talent whilst fulfilling the needs of your organisation. An apprenticeship is a three way partnership between the employer, Kirklees College and the apprentice.

An apprentice is employed by the business, training and expanding new skills in the work environment. However, 20% of their learning must take place off the job, be relevant to the apprenticeship standard and be different to the apprentice’s day-to-day tasks.

An apprenticeship can last between 12 and 48 months and is available to anyone from any background from 16 years of age. Whether you are looking to upskill existing staff or diversify and refresh your workplace with potential new talent, an apprenticeship is an excellent way to create a motivated, qualified workforce.

a female kirklees student wearing blue overalls stood in front of a truck

What are the benefits?

Whether you want to attract new talent or up-skill your workforce, we know your staff will be more motivated, engaged and loyal if you are investing in their growth. There are so many ways your business can benefit from apprenticeships.

Cost Effective

Employee Engagement

Employee Retention

Return on Investment

Business Growth

Get in Touch

Contact us regarding any apprenticeship related queries by email or telephone; we are here to help you achieve the very best during your time at Kirklees College.

Everything you need to know

Apprenticeships refer to on-the-job training leading to nationally recognised qualifications, developed by industry.  The National Apprenticeship service supports, funds and co-ordinates the delivery of Apprenticeships throughout England.

It will depend on the qualification, but most are between one and four years and are not permitted to last less than 12 months.

Apprentices must have reached the legal age to work full time but there is no upper age limit – however the funding for different age groups may be different.

Like all employees, apprentices must still receive a wage. The minimum wage for apprentices is set by the government as a per hour rate, but many employers pay more than this; visit https://www.gov.uk/national-minimum-wage-rates for more details.

Funding is available however eligibility criteria applies – call our Employer Engagement Team for the latest information.

Apprentices generally work between 30 & 40 hours a week.  

Apprentices aged 16/17 are not legally permitted to work in excess of 40 hours per week under the ‘Working Time Regulations’.

All apprentices must by law spend a minimum of 20% of their contracted, paid working hours averaged over a year undertaking off-the-job training towards their Apprenticeship (excluding maths and English).

This varies from programme to programme. Some of the training can be in the workplace and other sessions could be in college or with a learning provider.  Depending on the type of job being done, or the elements of training being undertaken, it could be one day a week or a block release.

Meet our Apprenticeship Team

Thank you for supporting our Apprenticeship programme. By offering an Apprenticeship you are actively developing local talent and fulfilling the needs of your organisation with the benefits offered by this placement. Our dedicated Apprenticeship Team are here to support you and your business for the duration of the placement to ensure you and our students maximise this opportunity.

Want to find out more?

In a world that constantly changes, our dedicated Business Team successfully adapts to support the ever-changing needs of the business community. Working alongside organisations, we understand the business benefits of producing home-grown talent, customised skills and delivering a training framework that is aligned to the role, the individual and the company needs.