Apprenticeship Reforms
Apprenticeships provide young people with an opportunity to gain extensive knowledge and skills in their chosen field whilst in employment and also offer those already working in the industry to gain additional skills and knowledge to progress.
Apprenticeships cover a range of engineering related sectors including Fabrication and Welding Apprenticeships and provide employers with an opportunity to improve their onsite productivity and provide the much needed skill base to ensure employers have skilled workforce available for the future.
Engineering apprenticeships are available across England, with The CEATA Training Academy offering a variety of engineering courses to allow apprentices to enjoy an exciting career in welding, fabrication, manufacturing and engineering maintenance. From 16 years old, individuals can be trained to operate such equipment as MIG Welding machines and other fabrication tools, allowing them to contribute to a thriving engineering business with nationally recognised qualifications.
From 01 April 2017 the government has introduced changes to the funding for apprenticeships, large employers (annual salary costs £3m+) will pay an apprenticeship levy to be used to fund their apprenticeship programmes, smaller businesses will receive 90% towards the cost of apprenticeships contributing the remaining 10%.
The UK government understand the role small companies have played in developing talent from the ground up, which is why employers with fewer than 50 members of staff will receive 100% of the funding to support apprentices aged 16-18 at the start of their programme. Additional support is available to help small employers recruit apprentices between 16-18 years old with a £1,000.00 payment made in two instalments
All apprentices are required to achieve maths and English functional skills qualifications if they do not hold appropriate GCSEs, the cost of these qualifications is funded in full. These funding reforms also give employers the choice of which training providers they wish to use (taken from the Register of Apprentice Training Providers) to deliver apprenticeships and have more control of monitoring the quality and content of apprenticeships. Employers will need to enter into a training agreement with training providers for the delivery of all apprenticeships.
Further reforms to apprenticeships are in progress with a move away from current apprenticeship frameworks to apprenticeship standards with a new standard already approved for welding. Apprenticeships are available from intermediate to higher levels and offer a complete pathway for employers to train their workforce and invest in the managers of the future.