Growing your own IT staff is usually faster and cheaper than competing for people who already have the certificate. We recruit, train and assess; you get someone productive who learns your systems from the inside.
Hire an apprentice
Overview
What you are actually taking on
An apprentice is an employee, not a student on placement. They are on your payroll, doing real work, from the first week. What makes it an apprenticeship is that a fifth of their contracted hours are protected for training, and that at the end an independent assessor confirms they can do the job against a national standard.
That is the whole bargain: you provide the job and the time, we provide the training and the assessment, and the standard makes the result mean the same thing to every other employer in the country.
What we do and what you do
We handle
- Advertising the vacancy and screening applicants against the standard, not just against a CV.
- All off-the-job training, in our Middlesbrough centre, at your premises anywhere in the UK, or live online.
- Progress reviews, portfolio building and preparation for end-point assessment.
- The paperwork: the apprenticeship agreement, the commitment statement, and the funding claim.
You handle
- The wage, and a real role with enough scope for the apprentice to meet the standard.
- Twenty per cent of contracted hours released for training.
- A named person in the business who can answer questions and sign off progress reviews.
How long it takes to get started
From first conversation to an apprentice starting is usually a matter of weeks rather than months, and most of that is recruitment. We can also put an existing member of staff onto a standard, which removes the recruitment step entirely — that is common where somebody has grown into an IT role without ever being trained for it formally.
Which standards we deliver
We deliver IT apprenticeship standards at Level 3 and Level 4, covering support, networking, software and data. Each one is listed with what it covers and who it suits under Apprenticeships. If you are not sure which fits the role you have in mind, describe the job and we will tell you which standard matches it — or tell you that none of them do.
What it costs you
For most employers the training itself is either fully funded or close to it. Your real costs are the wage and the released hours. The funding page sets out the current rules in detail, and we confirm your exact position in writing before you commit to anything.
Ready when you are
Twenty minutes, free, no pressure. You will leave knowing exactly what your next step is.
- 1Tell us your goal
A first role, a promotion, or a skills gap in your team.
- 2We map the route
Twenty minutes with an advisor — apprenticeship, certification or bespoke training.
- 3You start
Middlesbrough, on-site at your workplace anywhere in the UK, or live online.
Ready when you are
Twenty minutes, free, no pressure. You will leave knowing exactly what your next step is.