Apprenticeships for non-teaching staff

An apprenticeship is a paid job combined with practical training and study, guided by a college or university - working alongside experienced staff and tutors to gain job-specific skills and a nationally recognised qualification. Apprenticeships provide an excellent way for schools to either bring in fresh talent or enhance the skills of their current staff. Apprentices are employed by the school, gaining knowledge, skills and behaviours that will ensure they maximise their impact in their chosen occupation, while developing personally and professionally.

We’re working with Church of England Trusts, Mixed Trusts and Community Trusts as well as Diocese and individual schools to support you to unitize your apprenticeship levy. We know apprenticeships can help you retain and attract brilliant individuals within your organisations.

There is no maximum age for an apprentice. An apprentice must be 16 or over.

Yes. Apprentices must have the correct residency status, have lived in the UK for the last 3 years and be living in England for the duration of their training. They can’t be in full-time education or on another government funded training programme either. There are no longer any requirements for apprentices to hold specific maths or English qualifications to be eligible to complete and apprenticeship.

No, apprenticeships are for new and existing employees and offer a structured and tailored way to train, upskill and invest in your staff.

The minimum duration of an Apprenticeship is 12 months. Most of the apprenticeships we’re offering have a duration of 18-24 months.

Digital Brochure coming soon.

The Apprenticeship Levy covers the cost of training and the employer pays their salary and any other associated employment costs.

Apprentices must be paid at least the National Minimum Wage (NMW). There are different levels of NMW, depending on age and whether you are an apprentice. (www.gov.uk/national-minimum-wage-rates)

An organisation can choose to pay an apprentice above the minimum wage. By offering a competitive salary you are more likely to get the right person for your organisation. If you choose to upskill an existing employee, it is likely they’ll remain on their existing salary.

Apprentices have the same terms and conditions as all other employees, including any sickness and holiday entitlements. As employees, apprentices should be issued with a contract of employment. If they are on a fixed term contract, it must covers the full duration of the apprenticeship.

Apprenticeships are funded by the taxpayer via the Apprenticeship Levy, implemented by the UK Government in April 2017. It is mandated that contributions at a rate of 0.5% of each month’s pay bill are paid by all employers with a wage bill exceeding £3 million. Levy funds accumulate and must be used within 24 months of payment, otherwise they are reclaimed by HMRC. Most trusts will have a pay bill large enough to be paying levy contributions and many are not yet using them to support the professional development of their staff.

While only larger organisations pay the levy, the funds it generates also support apprenticeship training for smaller employers interested in taking on apprentices. If your school or trust isn’t large enough to be paying levy contributions, or if your PAYE is pooled, it’s highly likely you’ll still be able to access levy funding.

Employers manage their levy funds through a (Digital Apprenticeship Service) DAS account dedicated to apprenticeship training expenditures. The levy is paid into the DAS account monthly.

For more detailed information on how your organisation type impacts how you access levy funds, download our Apprenticeship Levy Guide for Schools and Trusts.

Working a term-time only contract is not a barrier to a colleague completing an apprenticeship and all of our webinars will be delivered during term-time to accommodate term-time only contracts as standard. Note an apprentices ‘off the job training’ must be completed during working hours.

Colleagues working part-time is also not usually a barrier to completing an apprenticeship. To complete an apprenticeship in the time-phase stated, they need to be working at least 30 hours per week. Colleagues working fewer hours may need to extend the duration of their training. This will be assessed on a case-by-case basis with the provider. This is based on guidance published in February 2025 by the DfE and can be found here

OTJT is a vital part of any apprenticeship and it’s a condition of the apprenticeship funding rules that 20% of the apprentices paid hours are allocated to OTJT activities. It helps to reinforce the practical work-based skills completed on the job by the learner.

The ESFA define off the job training as ‘learning which is undertaken outside of the normal day to day working environment’. This does not necessarily mean time out of the classroom/office requiring staff cover.

This isn’t the case. OTJT can be accrued over the course of the apprenticeship.  It doesn’t have to be regimented to one day per week. Varied delivery can be used, such as short webinars, day release, study time, relevant INSET training and more, depending on the context.

It doesn’t always have to be. Training can be delivered through various methods such as e-learning, self-study and virtual classrooms.  And it’s not just teaching of the theory side which counts.  Practical training and learning such as, shadowing, mentoring, workshops, relevant internal CPD and research can also contribute.