Hiring an Apprentice: Trade Guide

Quick Answer: Taking on an apprentice means employing someone (usually 16+) on a genuine job while they complete a recognised apprenticeship standard, normally over 2–4 years, with at least 20% of their paid time spent on off-the-job training. The apprentice must be paid at least the apprenticeship National Minimum Wage rate for year one (and under 19), and the standard wage thereafter. For most small trade employers the training costs are heavily subsidised — a non-levy-paying employer co-invests only a small percentage (around 5%) of the training cost, with the government funding the rest, and there are extra incentive payments for younger apprentices.

Summary

Hiring an apprentice is how the trades reproduce themselves, and for a small business it is both an investment and a real commitment. Done well, it grows your own skilled worker on your own methods and standards, often cheaper over time than recruiting a finished tradesperson, and it spreads knowledge that would otherwise leave with you. Done casually — treated as cheap labour with the "training" forgotten — it fails the apprentice, breaches the funding rules, and wastes everyone's time.

An apprenticeship in England has a specific legal and funding structure. It is a real job with an employment contract, not work experience. The apprentice works towards an apprenticeship standard — a defined occupational standard such as a bricklayer, plumbing and domestic heating technician, electrician, carpenter and joiner, or similar — delivered jointly by you (the on-the-job experience) and a training provider (a college or independent provider doing the structured learning). The defining rule that small employers most often trip over is the 20% off-the-job training requirement: at least a fifth of the apprentice's normal paid working hours, across the apprenticeship, must be genuine off-the-job learning. That can be day-release at college, block weeks, or structured learning on site — but it has to actually happen and be recorded.

The money is more favourable than most small employers expect. Large employers pay the Apprenticeship Levy and draw training funds from it; the vast majority of trade businesses are non-levy payers, and for them the government funds the great bulk of the training cost, with the employer co-investing only a small share. There are also incentive payments for taking on younger apprentices and for very small employers. The wage bill is real — but the training bill, the part people fear, is mostly subsidised.

Key Facts

• An apprenticeship is a real job — the apprentice has an employment contract (an apprenticeship agreement), employee rights, holiday, and is on your payroll.
• Minimum duration — apprenticeships run for at least 12 months; most trade standards run 2–4 years to reach full occupational competence.
• 20% off-the-job training — at least 20% of the apprentice's normal paid working hours must be spent on off-the-job training, recorded and evidenced; this is a hard funding rule.
• Training provider — you deliver the on-the-job experience; an approved training provider delivers the structured training and prepares the apprentice for end-point assessment.
• End-Point Assessment (EPA) — modern apprenticeship standards finish with an independent EPA that the apprentice must pass to complete.
• Apprentice National Minimum Wage — a specific lower rate applies to apprentices in their first year and to apprentices aged under 19; after that they move to the age-appropriate NMW/NLW rate. (Rates change every April —.)
• Training funding for non-levy employers — the government funds the large majority of the training cost; the employer co-invests a small percentage (around 5%). Employers with very few staff may pay nothing for younger apprentices.
• Apprenticeship Levy — only paid by employers with an annual pay bill above £3 million; most trade businesses are non-levy payers.
• Incentive payments — additional payments are periodically available for taking on apprentices aged 16–18 (and certain 19–24 groups); the amounts and rules change, so check the current offer.
• Age — apprentices are usually 16 or over; there is no upper age limit — apprenticeships are open to adult career-changers too.
• Employer's liability insurance — required as for any employee; the apprentice must be covered.

Quick Reference Table

Detailed Guidance

Before you commit: is your business ready?

An apprentice needs genuine, varied work and genuine supervision. Before taking one on, be honest about whether you can provide:

• A real breadth of work. The apprentice must experience the full range of the trade over the apprenticeship, not just the one task that suits you that month. A business with a narrow workload can struggle to evidence the standard.
• Supervision and mentoring. Someone competent has to actually teach, check and correct. An unsupervised apprentice is unsafe and learns bad habits.
• The release for off-the-job training. That 20% is non-negotiable. If you cannot release them for day-release or block weeks, the apprenticeship will fail its funding rules.
• The wage commitment for the full term. It is a multi-year employment relationship, with the wage rising as they progress.

If the honest answer is "I just want a cheap pair of hands", an apprenticeship is the wrong route — for you and for them.

Finding a training provider and choosing the standard

The structured training is delivered by an approved provider — a local FE college or an independent training provider. They are your partner in the apprenticeship: they teach the theory, support the standard, and arrange the End-Point Assessment. Choose the apprenticeship standard that matches the occupation (e.g. bricklayer, carpentry and joinery, plumbing and domestic heating, installation electrician) and a provider who delivers it locally with a release pattern you can live with. The provider also helps with the funding paperwork and, in practice, often helps you recruit.

You can recruit an apprentice yourself or advertise the vacancy through the government's apprenticeship vacancy service; the provider can guide you through it.

The 20% off-the-job training rule

This is the rule small employers most often misunderstand or quietly ignore — and it is the one that voids funding. At least 20% of the apprentice's normal paid working hours, measured across the apprenticeship, must be genuine off-the-job training: learning new knowledge, skills and behaviours relevant to the standard, away from the normal day-to-day productive job.

It does not all have to be at college. It can include college day-release or block weeks, structured training on site, shadowing a specialist, practising new techniques, theory and assignments. What it cannot be is normal productive work, or training that would happen anyway like routine induction. It must be planned, timetabled and recorded — the records are what evidence the funding. Treat the 20% as a fixed cost of having an apprentice, built into your job planning, not an optional extra.

Pay — the apprentice minimum wage and beyond

Apprentices have their own National Minimum Wage rate, and the rule has two parts:

• The apprentice rate applies to an apprentice in the first year of their apprenticeship, and to any apprentice aged under 19 regardless of year.
• Once an apprentice is 19 or over and past their first year, they must be paid at least the standard age-related NMW or National Living Wage.

The rates change every April — always check the current figure rather than relying on last year's. Many good trade employers pay above the minimum, especially in later years, both to retain the apprentice and because by year two or three they are doing real, valuable work. The apprentice is also entitled to the normal employee package: paid holiday, payslips, pension auto-enrolment where applicable, and a safe place of work.

The funding — why the training is cheaper than you think

The fear that stops small employers is the assumed cost of training. For the typical trade business — a non-levy payer (pay bill under £3 million) — the reality is:

• The government funds the large majority of the agreed training cost for the chosen standard.
• The employer co-invests only a small percentage (around 5%) of that cost — and for the smallest employers taking on younger apprentices, even that share can be fully funded, meaning no training cost at all.
• Incentive payments for taking on apprentices in certain age groups (commonly 16–18) come and go — check what is currently on offer when you recruit.

The Apprenticeship Levy — the 0.5% charge people have heard of — is only paid by employers with a pay bill over £3 million, which is almost no trade SMEs. The training-cost side of an apprenticeship is, for most small trade employers, the affordable part. The wage is the real commitment. See apprenticeships and taking on staff for the wider employment picture.

Frequently Asked Questions

How much does it cost a small business to train an apprentice?

Far less than most employers assume. If you are a non-levy payer — a pay bill under £3 million, which covers almost every trade SME — the government funds the large majority of the apprenticeship training cost, and you co-invest only a small percentage (around 5%). For the smallest employers taking on younger apprentices, even that co-investment can be fully funded, so the training itself can cost nothing. The genuine cost is the wage over the 2–4 year term and the time spent supervising and releasing the apprentice for training.

Do I really have to give them 20% of their time off for training?

Yes — at least 20% of the apprentice's normal paid working hours must be genuine off-the-job training, and it is a hard condition of the funding. It does not all have to be college day-release: it can include block weeks, structured on-site training, shadowing, practising new techniques and theory work. But it must be planned, must be real learning beyond normal productive work, and must be recorded. If you cannot release the apprentice for it, the apprenticeship will not meet its funding rules — treat the 20% as a fixed cost of having an apprentice.

What do I have to pay an apprentice?

At least the National Minimum Wage. There is a specific lower apprentice rate that applies during the apprentice's first year, and to any apprentice aged under 19 regardless of year. Once an apprentice is 19 or over and has completed their first year, they must move to the standard age-related NMW or National Living Wage. The rates change every April, so check the current figures. Many trade employers pay above the minimum in later years, because a second- or third-year apprentice is doing genuinely valuable work.

Is an apprentice a proper employee?

Yes. An apprenticeship is a real job with an employment contract (an apprenticeship agreement). The apprentice goes on your payroll, accrues holiday, gets payslips, is covered by your employer's liability insurance, and has employee rights including protection from unfair dismissal in the usual way. They are not work-experience students or casual labour. That employee status — and the multi-year commitment behind it — is exactly why taking on an apprentice should be a considered decision, not an impulse hire.

Regulations & Standards

• Apprenticeships, Skills, Children and Learning Act 2009 — the legislative basis for apprenticeships in England.

• National Minimum Wage Act 1998 and the National Minimum Wage Regulations 2015 — set the apprentice rate and the standard NMW/NLW rates.

• Apprenticeship funding rules (Department for Education / DfE, updated annually) — govern the 20% off-the-job requirement, co-investment and incentive payments.

• Apprenticeship standards (Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education) — define each occupational standard and its End-Point Assessment.

• Employment Rights Act 1996 — the apprentice's rights as an employee.

• Employers' Liability (Compulsory Insurance) Act 1969 — the apprentice must be covered by employer's liability insurance.

• GOV.UK — Employing an apprentice — the step-by-step guide for employers

• GOV.UK — National Minimum Wage rates — current apprentice and standard rates

• Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education — apprenticeship standards and End-Point Assessment

• GOV.UK — Apprenticeship funding rules — co-investment, off-the-job training and incentives

• apprenticeships — the 5% co-investment, 20% off-the-job rule and training providers in brief

• taking on staff — PAYE, right to work, written particulars and auto-enrolment for any new employee

• trade qualifications — the qualifications and cards an apprentice works towards

• limited company — choosing a business structure before you start employing people