As an employer, you can adapt the apprentice's training according to the needs of your business. The apprentice is motivated to learn new skills and it is a great way to expand and upskill your workforce.

• 86% of employers said apprenticeships helped them develop skills relevant to their organisation
• 78% of employers said apprenticeships helped them improve productivity
• 74% of employers said apprenticeships helped them improve the quality of their product or service

Employers may be eligble for £1,000 payment for for hiring an apprentice:

• aged 16 to 18 years old
• aged 19 to 24 with an education, health and care plan or who has been in the care of their local authority

The funding can go towards any costs associated with supporting an apprentice in the workplace.

Find out more about financial incentives for hiring a new apprentice or how apprenticeships are funded.

There is also a limited funding budget of £3,000 for eligible employers who recruit an apprentice and meet the following criteria:

• the business must be a SME with a premises in Lancashire
• the business must not have hired an apprentice before (or in the last 2 years)
• the apprentice is under the age of 30

Find out more here with the Lancashire Skills & Employment Hub.

Download here to find out more about financial support available from CITB.

Funding for Apprenticeship

You will be required to set up a Digital Account and by creating an Apprenticeship Service Account, you'll be able to: 

• Access and manage apprenticeship funding 
• Set up and approve apprentices
• Advertise roles on the Find an Apprenticeship service
• Approve training costs
• Check payments to training providers
• Give training providers permission to carry out tasks on your behalf
• Give feedback on apprenticeship training

How to create an account 

To create an account, you will need:

• An email address
• Permission to add your PAYE schemes to the account
• Permission to accept the employer agreement on behalf of your organisation 

You will also need either the Government Gateway login for your organisation, or your accounts office reference number (AORN) and employer PAYE scheme reference number.

To create your account please following the Create an Account to Manage Apprenticeships link

How to register an account

Once the account is created you will need to follow these 3 steps: 

1. Go to 'Your Training Provider' and select Lancaster & Morecambe College - our UK Employer Reference Number is 10003768 
2. Set Permissions to allow for ‘add apprentice records’ and ‘recruit apprentices’
3. Once logged in head to ‘Your Organisations and Agreements’

• Add your organisation
• Select ‘View all agreements’
• Accept all agreements

Advertising your vacancies

Once you have registered on the apprenticeship service and have created your apprenticeship account you will be able to advertise your apprenticeship vacancies on the Find an Apprenticeship website.

To advertise a vacancy please complete our Apprenticeship Vacancy Form and our employer engagement team will be able to support you with the recruitment process. 

You are responsible for:

• giving your apprentice their contract of employment
• paying your apprentice’s wage
• signing an Apprenticeship Agreement

You will also need to create an Apprenticeship account, so that you’re able to receive funding to pay for Apprenticeship training and assessment costs.

You’ll use your account to:

• get apprenticeship funding
• find and save Apprenticeships
• find, save and manage training providers
• recruit apprentices
• add and manage Apprenticeships

This AAT guide is a practical help in setting up an accounting apprenticeship for a financial role. As we walk you through the process, you’ll soon realise that whatever your organisation’s size, it’s not hard to do. By the time you’ve finished, you should have a clear idea of how to take action.

Read The Guide Here