Employing an apprentice
Make an apprenticeship agreement
You must sign an apprenticeship agreement with your apprentice.
This gives details of:
- the skill, trade or occupation the apprentice is being trained for
- the name of the apprenticeship they’re working towards
- the start and end dates for the apprenticeship
- the amount of training you’ll give them
You can write your own apprentice agreement or download an apprenticeship agreement template.
Training plan
You must sign a training plan with your apprentice and the training provider.
You can write your own plan or use the apprenticeship training plan template.
It must include:
- the planned content and schedule for training
- what is expected and offered by the employer, the training provider and the apprentice
- how to resolve queries or complaints
If the apprentice has relevant experience
Your apprentice could spend less time training or qualify earlier if they have relevant experience. The training provider will tell you which it will be, depending on how the training is delivered.
Relevant experience includes having:
- qualifications, such as a National Vocational Qualification (NVQ) in a relevant subject
- industry or sector experience
- completed training, such as an IT course
If the amount of training is reduced, you must agree this with both the training provider and the apprentice during the initial assessment.