Ask Emma: How do I hire an apprentice?

Recruiting an apprentice is a great way to train your workforce of the future and get help from government towards the cost. Enterprise Nation founder Emma Jones explains how to go about it.

The facts

Apprentices are 16 years or over and combine working for you, alongside training for a qualification.

The government contributes 90% of the training cost, i.e. you benefit from welcoming in a motivated employee, with the majority of training costs taken care of. The government pays its 90% contribution direct to the training provider.

As employer, you commit to paying your apprentice at least the minimum wage with training - and therefore employment - lasting, on average, 12 to 18 months.

The steps

These are the steps to take, to take on your apprentice:

Find a training provider who delivers the type of training you're after. Do that through this link.

Simply state the type of skills you're after and results show the training providers offering these skills, close to your postcode, along with a rating of the training providers.

Alongside this, review the Apprenticeship Standards available, i.e. the types of training your apprentice will be undertaking, and the expected core skills developed on the back of this training.

Consider the Apprenticeship for Entrepreneurship which is a new standard aimed at cultivating young entrepreneurs in the workforce.

Draw up an apprenticeship agreement which you can simply download and complete according to your circumstances.

If you're new to hiring an apprentice, there could be extra support available in the form of the age 16 to 24 grant for employers which offers a grant of £1,500 per apprentice, with up to five grants available. Find out about that here.

The benefits

Enterprise Nation member, Jane Field, runs successful homewares and gifting business Jonny's Sister, and has had a fair share of benefits from hiring apprentices:

"We have found that apprentices bring an infectious enthusiasm and a definite 'lack of baggage' not always found in people who have already been in the workplace," she said.

"In our experience, we have found them to have a real 'can do' attitude that makes training much more enjoyable and effective for both parties.

"It has always been a win-win situation, as we end up with an employee who is well trained in Jonny's Sister products and way of working and they end up with a qualification and a job at the end of it.

"Over the past six years we've had eight apprentices with three currently still with us. Apart from one apprentice who went on to do a degree immediately her training finished, every other apprentice has stayed on. In fact one, who ended up as our office manager, has just left after five years to go travelling!"

Are you an Enterprise Nation member with a business question you want to ask Emma? Email hello@enterprisenation.com and she might pick yours.

Also in the Ask Emma series:

• How can I become a better public speaker?

• Should I go into business with a friend?

• What does the General Data Protection Regulation mean for my business?

• How do I find a business mentor?

• To raise, or not to raise? That is a big question

• What's the best use of my time as a business owner this summer?