Luton Borough Council

Employing an apprentice

Apprentices are aged 16 or over and combine working with studying for a work-based qualification - from GCSEs or equivalent up to degree level.

An apprentice can be a new or current employee. You could even receive a grant or funding to employ an apprentice if you’re in England.

Your apprentice must:

work with experienced staff
learn job-specific skills
study for a work-based qualification during their working week, for example at at a college or training provider

There are several steps to taking on an apprentice.

Check the apprenticeship standards for an apprenticeship in your industry and at a suitable level.
Register your interest in employing an apprentice with the National Apprenticeship Service
Find a training organisation that offers apprenticeships for your industry - they’ll handle your apprentice’s training, qualification and assessment
Check you’re eligible for a grant and apply
Advertise your apprenticeship - your training organisation will do this for you through apprenticeship vacancies. You can track your vacancies by registering as an employer
Select your apprentice and make an apprenticeship agreement with them

You can use an apprenticeship training agency if you want to employ an apprentice without the responsibility for running the apprenticeship scheme.

Apprenticeships can take from one to four years to complete, depending on the level of qualification the apprentice is studying for.

For more information on how to recruit an apprentice into your business contact the National Apprenticeship Service for help or advice.

We actively encourage the employment of apprentices and run our own in-house apprenticeship programme, graded as good in a recent Ofsted inspection.

The programme also offers an apprenticeship training service to local employers.

For further information about our service please contact Luton Adult Learning on 01582 490033.