FAQs
How apprenticeships work
Q. How does the system work these days?
A. Apprentices are employed by the company and attend college on a day or block release course. The course teaches the theory of the subject and includes some practical elements. During the term of the apprenticeship, the apprentice will also work towards achieving a level 2 or level 3 NVQ (or both).
Q. What is an NVQ?
A. A National Vocational Qualification (NVQ) is the practical qualification that all apprentices work towards achieving. It is made up of a number of units, which must be assessed in the workplace and is based on the apprentice providing their assessor with evidence of a range of jobs carried out.
Q. What funding is available?
A. MIT, as a training provider, deals with the government agencies, which allows access to Government funding. This, in turn, allows MIT to fund the apprentice’s training costs, including college, registration and exam fees. We also fund the NVQ assessment process.
Q. What is the minimum wage?
A. A 16 – 18 year old apprentice on a Government funded scheme must be paid a minimum allowance of £97.50 per week, however a higher level of payment may be necessary to keep the apprentice in place. The current national minimum wage rate for an 18-20 year old is £4.98 per hour and £6.08 per hour for anyone 21 years of age and older. (At April 2012)
Q. How many hours can a trainee work?
A. All apprentices are employed status, which means that they come under your terms and conditions and work the number of hours detailed in their contract of employment, which should be issued within 16 weeks of the apprentice’s start date. It is recommended that apprentices work a maximum of 40 hours per week.
Q. There are only 1-3 people here, is that too small for a trainee?
A. No it isn’t. We have quite a number of small employers that have successfully employed an apprentice in the past or that are presently employing apprentices who we are supporting through their learning period.
Q. What about insurance?
A. As a part of our normal process, we check that your organization has suitable Employers’ Liability Insurance in place.
Q. How long does the apprenticeship last?
A. An apprenticeship (up to level 2), is targeted to last two and half years, however, the main aim is the achievement of an Advanced apprenticeship (level 3), which is targeted to last three and half years overall.
Q. What if things don’t work out?
A. Part of MIT’s responsibility as a training provider is to visit the employer and the apprentice on a regular basis. Feedback from the apprentice’s Manager is sought at these visits, allowing regular opportunities to discuss any problems that may arise. At MIT we have vast experience of assisting in these matters and take pride in our ability to provide a range of extra support if required.
Q. What do I get out of it?
A. You may have experienced difficulty in finding or attracting the right sort of person to join your team and MIT can help with this problem. Furthermore, an apprentice, who is employed by an organization, can be taught exactly how the organization wants them to behave, the systems to adopt and specializations they want them to have. A knock on effect for any industry which does not take adequate apprentices over a period of time, is that eventually it becomes increasingly difficult to find staff with the required skills and, when they are found, can cost an increased amount.
Q. How long before a trainee is cost effective?
A. As a rule of thumb, an apprentice could be at least 25 % productive after year 1, working up to fully productive by the end of the training period. It is worth remembering that, as well as selling their hours directly, they may also be productive if they carry out work that allows a skilled worker to carry out other productive work.
Q. How do I take on a trainee?
A. MIT aims to do as much work as possible to assist in the selection of an apprentice. With funding linked to achievement of an apprenticeship framework, it is in our interest to match suitable young people to companies. We, therefore, give each applicant a detailed interview and assessment test, before selecting suitable candidates for companies to interview. Alternatively, if an organization already has its own applicants or employees, we will work with them.
Q. What options are available to me?
A. You can either take on an apprentice straight from school or college, or you could trial a potential apprentice using our tried and tested work experience programme. This means that you can take on someone attending a full time course and give them a taste of working life in a company. If they are successful you can employ them.
Q. Why should I use MIT?
A. We have a wealth of experience in many sectors of industry. We offer an extremely flexible and cost effective solution to employing a trainee and give the backup and support required to meet our mutual objectives. A recent inspection by the Government’s Adult Learning Inspectorate concluded that MIT was a “Good” provider of training – we are one of only a small number of training providers to meet this high standard.