July 8th, 2020: The Government has recognised the enormous value of apprentices to the economy by providing bonuses to companies who hire them. The new payments will be eligible to companies for each new apprentice they hire, and is intended to help those companies power the economic recovery, while creating opportunities for young people.
As Chancellor Rishi Sunak said in his statement: 'We know apprenticeships work,– 91% of apprentices stay in work or do further training afterwards.’
Here are some key takeaways regarding a bonus package for employers taking on new apprentices:
- The scheme will run for six months starting from August 2020
- The Government will pay bonuses to companies for hiring new apprentices: £2,000 for an apprentice under 25, and £1,500 for an apprentice over 25
- Apprentices between 16-18 years old already come with a £1,000k government bonus, so the total available support for these apprentices will be £3,000. Firms also pay no employers National Insurance contributions on apprentices under the age of 25.
What you need to seize this opportunity
UK firms wishing to create opportunities for young people and benefit from this subsidy need to seriously consider how they tackle the following challenges:
- Accessing the best diverse young talent
- Developing them into change makers
Read on to find out what we do to find high-quality apprentices and ensure that they succeed at your company.
Hiring high-quality, early-stage, non-graduate talent isn't easy
Whilst hard skills can be taught, it's soft skills that can truly determine one’s future success in a chosen career. To find young candidates with the greatest potential, you need to thoroughly assess not only their talent, but also their soft skills.
At WhiteHat, we take our candidates through a rigorous application process. But we find that young people from disadvantaged backgrounds often have the same talent but without the same opportunity and support network as their more advantaged peers.
Leveling up the playing field enables selected candidates to come into your organisation with high intent, great attitude, and determination to succeed. That’s why we give pre-application and interview upskilling training to young people that need it more.
To find the best talent, we go out to hard-to-reach communities together with our charity partners supporting the young people across London facing the most challenging barriers to employment.
Last year, we took part in 158 outreach events, and over 50% of our applicants are BAME, slightly over half are female, and just under 50% were on free school meals. During the pandemic, our Educational Outreach Team is actively reaching out to diverse talent through our online Community and digital events.
The impact of our programme is reflected in WhiteHat apprentices’ End Point Assessment results: of all our candidates, 97% Pass and 66% achieve a Distinction, compared to an industry average of 67% achieving a pass.
Apprentices who are ready to start in your company are more likely to succeed
Even the greatest candidate needs support as they join your workplace. The speed at which they integrate into your company and the impact of their work can be greatly improved by providing training and guidance from the outset.
That’s why we’ve designed a part of the curriculum that prepares apprentices to step into your team with the right intent, empowered by the knowledge and awareness needed for a strong start in your company.
Our dedicated training session also provides a positive first experience for apprentices and verifies that they are operating at the correct level through initial assessments.
Thanks to that, our last apprenticeship survey revealed that 100% of our apprentices in their final 3 months on programme reported that they have had more responsibility during the apprenticeship, and 91% of them had received a promotion or pay rise.
Our active online community helps us ensure our alumni stay inspired and motivated, and achieve more. We’re excited to share that 86% of our apprentices are in full-time employment, and 11% have progressed to further education or training - including those who chose to progress to a higher level apprenticeship with WhiteHat!
Talk to us about apprenticeships
