Update: Thursday 09th July

Chancellors Announcement ‘Brand New Bonus For Businesses To Hire Apprentices’

Brief outline of what the chancellor has promised for Apprenticeships:

• Sunak says the government will give companies £3000 for a 16-18 year old, £2000 for a 19-24 year old, £1500 for a 24+ each to encourage them to hire apprentices.
• The government has already pledged to double the number of staff who work in job centres.
• The chancellor says the government will pay employers £1,000 to take on trainees.
• He also say the government will provide £100m to create places on Level 2 and 3 courses.

Announcing the incentives during his summer statement, Sunak told the House of Commons “We know apprenticeships work. 91% stay in work or go onto further training.”

Further details will follow about what this could mean for you and how we can support you with this.

Update: Thursday 28th June

Have you thought about enrolling your existing staff on an apprenticeship during this crisis?

Many existing staff members that are working from home or furloughed, would benefit from undertaking an apprenticeship and now could be the right time to start them on their journey. We’ve adapted the curriculum to bring forward much of the underpinning knowledge and theory, alongside the English and maths, so that their time away from work is utilised for Off The Job Training and when they return to the workplace they can use what they have learnt to the benefit of the business. Furthermore, there will be significantly less OtJT to undertake in the remainder of their apprenticeship during working hours.

Top 10 Benefits of starting an apprenticeship at this time:

1. Increase in motivation and self-confidence; gives a sense of purpose and focus
2. A new routine to enable your apprentice to progress within their qualification and to develop a sense of productiveness and achievement, both within the knowledge and theory elements of their programme, including the ability to sit Functional Skills exam remotely.
3. Reduce the feeling of isolation, which is akin to a bereavement at the loss of ordinary contact with colleagues
4. Support learners to manage their own mental health, look out for others and know where to get help from
5. Demonstrates commitment from you as their employer and alleviates some of the fear of there not being a job to go back to
6. Good use of time to complete as much Off the Job Training (OtJT) away from the workplace. Upon return to the workplace, less OtJT hours will need to be completed, allowing employers to use their apprentices (who have developed their knowledge and understanding) to focus on business delivery and activities.
7. Developing use of different communication methods and how to use them effectively in their role, including the use of technology/digital solutions within the business environment
8. Safeguarding through regular interaction between apprentices and trainers/mentors, some via video link will help to identify safeguarding issues that may have already been present at home or as a result of lockdown
9. HR, Management and Team Leader curriculum will be adapted to include how to manage and support their teams through this crisis
10. Support to prepare your apprentices for their return to work. After months of isolation, some of it will become normalised and returning to a daily routine of going out to work will need to be prepared for

During this period of national uncertainty, we have already adapted many of our training resources for remote delivery. Early feedback from learners has been positive and we will continue to develop and innovate new delivery solutions to meet the needs of our learners.

For more information about apprenticeships or other training we can offer during these uncertain times, contact us at [email protected]

All of us at TheLightBulb would like to wish you and your family continued good health.

We take the safety of staff, learners and their employers very seriously and whilst our staff are currently remote working, our team want to let everyone know we are here to support you all.

Not only can we help our apprentices to use their time productively to increase their 20% off the job training in readiness for their return to normal working practices, but we can also upskill any existing staff whilst they have downtime to become better educated and qualified, ready for their return to your business.

Let us know if we can help you with any tailored training support for your existing staff.  We can currently offer a range of fully funded remote training session such as Leadership and Management and Social Media and Digital Marketing.  However, if you have any specific training requirements please contact us and we will be happy to help.

If you need any more information contact us via email on [email protected] or keep up to date by following us on our social media platforms listed below.