Hiring an Apprentice is the way to a safe, effective and lucrative future! At Reynolds Training, we’ve pioneered the use of Apprenticeships as a way of ensuring our sector has a pipeline of qualified and experienced new Operators to keep the fuel flowing, the wheels turning and the profits coming in.
Our Bulk Liquid Storage Apprenticeship (With Level 3 Technical Specialism) is the ONLY Apprenticeship that is specialist to our sector – and, here at Reynolds, we’re the premier training provider offering it as we were part of the team that developed it and we have pioneered delivering it for many years now.
In this short series of blogs, we’re looking, firstly, at the cost of hiring and training an Apprentice. We think you’ll be pleasantly surprised. Then, in the second blog, we’ll look at the timeline needed to hire and enrol an Apprentice. It takes longer than you might think, so you need to start making decisions now! Finally, in the third blog, we’ll look at the vast network of individuals and organisations whose hard work and expertise goes into producing every new fully-trained and raring-to-go Apprentice.
Table of contents
- Why hire an Apprentice?
- How much does an Apprentice cost?
- Apprentice costs in detail
- Tell us about your training needs
Why Hire An Apprentice?
This is a great business sector to work in – and it’s the most exciting time to join.
As the world makes advances through energy transition, we will need young, imaginative, ambitious and well-trained Operators who are able to adapt to an ever-changing future of fuel.
Our Apprenticeship programme is uniquely suited to helping you build a strong, sustainable workforce for the future by giving your new employees the knowledge, skills and behaviour they need to ensure a safe, sustainable and profitable future for themselves and for the entire industry.
What Apprenticeships deliver:
| 1: Knowledge | 2: Skills | 3: Behaviour |
|---|---|---|
| Foundational and classroom study gives learners the theoretical and technical knowledge they need | Our NCPM facility gives learners the chance to apply their knowledge and develop practical skills | Through practical experience supported by technical skills – professional behaviour is learned |
All of which adds up to a fully-rounded, time-served, qualified, professional Operator who is ready to work!
So, How Much Does an Apprenticeship Cost?
One of the questions we are most often asked by prospective employers concerns the cost of hiring and training a new Apprentice. So, we’re here to explain that taking on an Apprentice may be the most cost-effective way of getting good Operators entering your business. Why? Because you’ve very likely already paid for them!
We’d argue that the training of an Apprentice is virtually FREE.
You can get help from the UK government to pay for Apprenticeship training. You might also be able to get an additional payment of £1,000, depending on the Apprentice you hire.
The amount you get depends on whether you pay the Apprenticeship Levy or not.
If you pay into the Apprenticeship Levy?
If you do pay the Apprenticeship Levy, you have effectively already paid for your Apprentice, so you can draw down the entire training fee from the central government.
Importantly: Your money is only available to you for 24 months. If you don’t claim your money back in two years, it goes to pay for someone else’s Apprentice!
If you DON’T pay into the Apprenticeship Levy?
If your business is not eligible to contribute to the Levy, you can still get 95% funding!
So, your business can benefit from a new cohort of trained, time-served and qualified staff, who have cost you very little.
What if you’ve already reclaimed your Apprenticeship Levy?
No problem. If you want to hire more Apprentices than your Levy contributions will pay for, you can still claim 95% funding for the additional Apprentices.
You can learn all about this at Gov.UK’s Apprenticeship Levy pages, and we at Reynolds Training are more than happy to talk you through it, if you have specific questions and would like to talk about your bespoke requirements.
Apprentice Costs in Detail
While the Levy will help to cover your Apprentice training costs – it’s worth bearing in mind that you, as the employer, will have to provide the employee-related costs.
These will vary depending on the learner, on the costs of accommodating them off site, on the costs of acquiring appropriate PPE.
Obviously there will be variables, but below is reasonable approximation of how much a typical Apprentice will cost to fully train …
“The 80k we spend over a 27 month period on training Apprentices, is roughly equivalent to the wage we’d be paying an Operator over that period – so, it’s like we pay for the Operator and all their experience, skills and qualifications come as a value added bonus!”
Tell us about YOUR training needs
So, to recap:
- Our Bulk Liquid Storage Apprenticeship (With Level 3 Technical Specialism) delivers new Operators to your business, equipped with knowledge, skills and professional behaviour
- In many cases, employers have already paid for the training of their Apprentices
- Those employers who haven’t already paid, can still claim a 95% discount
- There are additional employee costs that employers will need to pay
But, don’t just take our word for how great Apprenticeships are for business … Our good friends at the TSA are totally committed to the power of Apprentices, which is why they have published their own Apprenticeships Guide, which includes fantastic testimonials from successful Apprentices.
So, now you can see how amazingly affordable an Apprentice can be – stay tuned for the next blog in this series where you’ll learn about the Apprenticeship Timeline – a realistic assessment of just how long it takes from the moment you decide you need an Apprentice to the time they arrive at Reynolds Training for their first day.
After that, you’ll be able to check out the third part of this short series, where we reveal the list of Apprenticeship Roles – the vast number of individuals and organisations who stand behind every Apprentice we train, ensuring their skills and knowledge are of the highest calibre.
Ask us about arranging Apprenticeships for your business, or we could create any customised training course to your precise specifications. Just get in touch by filling-in the contact form below:
