Apprenticeships

Apprenticeships are not only a great way to bring in entry-level talent to your brand but can also be used to upskill your existing staff at all levels of your business to meet your current and future needs.

New apprentices can help increase diversity in your teams and offer a great way to expand your workforce at low cost to the business, with funding available to cover the cost of training through the Apprenticeship Levy or Government Co-Investment.

The majority of an apprentice’s learning time is spent on the job, and studies show that investing in employee learning and development helps to improve productivity, and is also proven to boost employee retention rates.

Apprenticeships can be undertaken by staff aged 16 or over, who must be paid at least the minimum wage*. On-the-job learning is combined with off-the-job studying to gain skills and knowledge they can immediately put into practice. Working with experienced staff, they learn job-specific skills and get time for training or study during their working week, in partnership with a training provider such as the Fashion Retail Academy.

Depending on the level, ability and apprenticeship standard, most EFI Training apprenticeships last between one and three years from enrolment to End-Point Assessment.

*See here for more information on the minimum wage for apprentices

There are many variables to how much your business will have to pay for an apprenticeship, with training fees, wages and recruitment all playing a part. However, support is available to help cover the costs of training:

• Apprenticeship Levy: if your brand is a Levy payer, the full cost of the apprenticeship training can be claimed back from your pot
• Government Co-Investment: your brand pays as little as 5% of the cost of the apprenticeship, with the remaining 95% paid by the Government

Find out more about costs to employ an apprentice and your responsibilities as an employer at www.gov.uk/employing-an-apprentice

No, anyone over the age of 16 can take an apprenticeship, including career changers and your existing employees wanting to develop their skills.

Yes, if this is agreed between the employer, the apprentice and EFI Training as the training provider. The apprenticeship may take longer to complete to make sure that the apprentice has enough learning time to successfully complete the programme and End-Point Assessment.

Yes, we can offer apprenticeships for your existing staff at all levels. This is an increasingly popular way to upskill your workforce and address skills gaps, while the benefits for the employee include gaining nationally-recognised training in a specific area and feeling valued thanks to the investment in their development.

Yes, apprentices are entitled the the same rights as your other employees, including a contract of employment, a minimum of 20 days’ paid annual leave, breaks and health and safety provision.

Your apprentice must spend the equivalent of at least 6 hours per week doing off-the-job training, but this does not have to mean one full day a week out of the business.

Our open cohort programmes typically require apprentices to attend a full day or half day workshop every two to three weeks, depending on the standard. Apprentices will also spend time off-the-job completing self-directed learning. 

For closed access cohorts, we can arrange learning around your business needs to minimise disruption, for example, by scheduling blocks of training at convenient times.

Employers must ensure that apprentices do real, productive work during their on-the-job hours, while ensuring they are given the time to complete their off-the-job training requirements.

You should also hold regular check-ins with your apprentice to make sure that their learning is on track, and liaise with your EFI Training client manager throughout – particularly around End-Point Assessment.

In the majority of cases, apprentices go on to be offered a permanent role within the business, but this is not a requirement and may depend on factors such as availability of a permanent role or their performance during the apprenticeship.

However, given the investment already made in their development, for most business it makes sense to keep on an apprentice once they have completed their apprenticeship.

Yes! This is one of the best ways to you can use an apprenticeship: you can hire or upskill one or more apprentices who are keen to gain the skills you need while relying on the expert training provided by EFI Training to ensure that their learning is in line with industry standards.

An open cohort is when a number of apprentices from different brands studying the same standard start their programme at the same time. This can be a useful option for your brand if you have a small number of employees that you want to take up an apprenticeship. EFI Training offers three open intakes per year, in February/March, April/May and September/October, for most programmes.

Closed cohorts are comprised of employees from a single company studying the same apprenticeship standard, and are more flexible. With a closed cohort, your apprentices can start their programme together at a time of your choosing and we can also tailor the teaching more specifically to your brand and business needs. There are different minimum numbers required for each type of apprenticeship standard - for more details, check the individual apprenticeship pages.

Get in touch to schedule a meeting with our apprenticeships team to discuss your needs – we can devise a learning and development plan that works for your business, help you access government funding and answer any further questions you may have.