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Invest in your workforce

Hire an apprentice, or upskill your employees with an apprenticeship

Email: apprenticeships@harrogate.ac.uk
Tel: 01423 879 466

What is an apprenticeship?

Apprenticeships allow individuals to gain qualifications and experience while working alongside employees. They are a great choice for people who benefit from more hands-on learning, have identified their ideal career or who want to change industries.

Apprenticeships also enable current employees to progress and stay in a company for longer by providing them with the right training and qualifications. There are different levels of apprenticeships, each offering a qualification equivalent to GCSEs, A Levels, degrees and masters.

For the duration of their apprenticeship, an apprentice will be employed with a salary, undertaking a mixture of practical training at your location with off-the-job training at one of our campuses or remotely.

Apprenticeship benefits for businesses:

  • Diversify your team and bring in fresh ideas
  • Cultivate new talent with more attractive opportunities to progress
  • Fill skill gaps and expand your workforce
  • Retrain and upskill your current team
  • Save on training costs – the government will pay for up to 100% of apprenticeship
  • Costs (dependent on business size)
  • Receive dedicated support from our Business Development teams
  • Become part of Luminate’s extensive local and regional networks

Video Transcript

Apprenticeships at Harrogate College

Location: Harrogate College (Professional Cookery Kitchen, Hair & Beauty Salon, Electrical Workshop, Vehicle Technology Centre, and Construction & Joinery Workshop).
Speakers: Louise Williams, Deputy Head of Apprenticeships – Harrogate College

WCAG 2.1 Doc

The video opens with a smooth fade-in and an upbeat, rhythmic acoustic guitar track that sets a positive and energetic tone. Louise Williams is seated in a contemporary, light-filled office, looking professional and welcoming.

As Louise begins to speak, the video cuts to a series of vibrant action shots. We see a student in the professional kitchen expertly handling a pan over a flame, showcasing the high-spec, industrial-grade culinary facilities. This is followed by a shot in the stylish hair salon, where an apprentice is proficiently blow-drying a client’s hair with focused care.

Louise Williams: “At Harrogate College, we currently run twenty-five different apprenticeship standards and these start at Level 2 and range up to Level 4. They are within hospitality, hairdressing, motor vehicle, electrical… there’s not much that we don’t do here, so we can support most businesses with something. Apprenticeships are a really good way of addressing skills gaps within a business regardless of its size.”

The footage highlights the college’s technical workshops. We see an apprentice in the electrical workshop working with precision on a circuit board, followed by a collaborative scene in the motor vehicle workshop where an apprentice and tutor are working together under the bonnet of a modern car. The setting is cutting-edge and meticulously organised, reflecting a premier learning environment.

Louise Williams: “So whether it’s a small micro-business or a larger regional company, you could have a company that is an electrical company but you need some support with accounting and customer service. So you might look to take on a business admin apprentice, and they would be able to fill that gap there for you.”
We see an apprentice in the joinery workshop using a power drill with steady, practiced hands. The workspace is bright and spacious, filled with professional tools. The scene returns to Louise, who continues to explain the college’s expanding reach.

Louise Williams: “So at Harrogate College, we’re always looking at where we can support other areas of North Yorkshire that don’t have any delivery in their locality nearby. So we’re branching our reach up into the Ripon area. So we’re taking a lot of our delivery from being in-college delivery to work-based learning, so we can respond to employers’ needs a lot easier.”

The video concludes with a warm, smiling shot of Louise, followed by a professional fade to a light blue endframe featuring the logos for Harrogate College, Luminate Education Group, and Apprenticeships.

https://harrogate-college.ac.uk/apprenticeships/


Two students smiling whilst being shown how to use tools in the Harrogate College workshop

Why choose Harrogate College?

  • Harrogate College is part of the Luminate Education Group, one of the largest further education institutions in the country with more than 20,000 students, and we are one of the biggest providers of apprenticeships regionally
  • We pride ourselves on our good relationships with local, regional and national employers
  • We have excellent facilities which include professional kitchens, auto-mechanic workshop, science laboratory, salon and a construction workshop.
  • We will allocate you an account manager who will help identify any training needs for current members of staff and new recruits
  • We are funding experts and can help you get the maximum benefit of government funding available to you
  • We have ex-industry expert teachers to mentor your apprentice
  • We have a dedicated and specialist recruitment team
  • We will help you write the job description and advertise this through the National Apprenticeship website, the Harrogate College website and on our social media pages
  • We will support you as an employer and your apprentice throughout the apprenticeship journey
“Harrogate College’s support and commitment to learning has been a huge plus to the career of one of our newest members of our care team.
It has been truly inspirational to see the positive transformation in our employee’s knowledge and how her confidence has grown through learning and committed support. This has led to a positive impact on the lives of the people she supports and the wider organisation.
The credit for this goes to our amazing employee for her attitude and commitment to learning, and to Harrogate college and its staff for their professionalism, dedication, and commitment to positively improving the lives of their students.”

Paulsimon Robinson,
Registered Manager,
Harrogate Skills for Living

Our apprenticeship areas

Apprenticeship Levels

  • Intermediate apprenticeships

    Level: 2

    Equivalent to: 5 GCSEs 4-9*

    Suitable for: Junior roles and anyone new to the industry

    Purpose: Intermediate Apprenticeships offer an entrance to an industry, teaching apprentices the basic skills and knowledge needed to progress within a chosen career path

    Job Roles: Engineering Operative, Accounts Assistant, Butcher, Adult Care Worker, Leisure Team Member

  • Advanced apprenticeships

    Level: 3

    Equivalent to: 2 A levels

    Suitable for: Existing staff members and those who have completed a Level 2 apprenticeship

    Purpose: Advanced Apprenticeships begin specialising, deepening existing knowledge of the industry, and developing skills and knowledge further

    Job Roles: Software Developers, Chef de Parties, Electrical Engineers

  • Higher apprenticeships

    Level: 4 and 5

    Equivalent to: Foundation degree

    Suitable for: Senior roles and employees looking to progress

    Purpose: Higher Apprenticeships provide more advanced knowledge and skill development that specialise and refine towards senior roles and industry applications

    Job Roles: Apprentice Teachers, Lab Technicians, Project Managers

  • Degree apprenticeships

    Level: 6 and 7

    Equivalent to: Bachelors or Masters degree

    Suitable for: Specialist careers and senior roles

    Purpose: Degree Apprenticeships usually involve undertaking an undergraduate or postgraduate qualification to gain senior positions with specialist skill sets

    Job Roles: Accountant, Finance Analyst, Product Development Manager, Event Manager

Ongoing support

You and your apprentice will be introduced to an industry skilled assessor. They will keep in contact with your apprentice on a regular basis throughout the apprenticeship, including monthly visits to your place of work. There will be an element of blended learning and they will support and guide your apprentice through the 20% off the job training and monitor their progress.

Next steps: how to start your apprenticeship journey

  1. Contact our specialist business advisors to book your free Skills Planning review
  2. We can help identify skills gaps, vacancies and staff development opportunities that could be boosted by apprenticeships and flexible training & development
  3. Create an apprenticeship service account and reserve your apprenticeships funds

Frequently asked questions:

We have put together some information which we hope you will find useful. If your question isn’t answered below, please contact us and we will be happy to help.



Email: apprenticeships@harrogate.ac.uk
Call: 01423 879 466

  • What is the Apprenticeship Levy?

    The Apprenticeship Levy is a tax paid by employers that is used to help fund apprenticeship training.

  • Who pays the Apprenticeship Levy?

    Employers with an annual pay bill of more than £3 million pay the Apprenticeship Levy at a rate of 0.5% of their annual pay bill. Employers with connections to companies or charities for Employment Allowance purposes and who have a combined annual pay bill of more than £3 million, also pay the Apprenticeship Levy. The Levy is paid monthly.

  • How much does it cost to hire an apprentice?

    Employers can get help with funding the cost of training and assessing apprentices. How much you are entitled to depends on whether or not you pay the Apprenticeship Levy.

    • Those who pay the Apprenticeship Levy receive funds for training and assessing their apprentices – the government will add 10%.
    • Those who do not pay the Apprenticeship Levy pay 5% towards the cost of training and assessing the apprentice, direct to the training provider. The government will pay the remaining 95%, direct to the training provider.

    An additional £1000 may be available to you – depending on certain circumstances. For more information regarding costs and funding, please visit gov.uk/employing-an-apprentice/get-funding

  • Do I have to pay the wages for the apprentice?

    Yes, you will need to pay an apprentice like any other member of your staff. Please see here for further details Gov National Minimum Wage.

    Certain grants are available to some employers taking on an apprentice to help support with the payment of their wages. Details of these grants will be discussed with you prior to your recruitment of an apprentice.

  • How many hours can an apprentice work a week?

    This varies, but as a minimum an apprentice should work 30 hours a week, up to a maximum of 48 hours a week (40 hours for under 18s).

  • How many off-the-job hours does an apprentice have?

    An apprentice spends 20% of their normal working hours in ‘off-the-job’ training – this can take place weekly, monthly or in one concentrated block of time. As an example, if an apprentice was working 35 hours a week, they would spend 7 hours a week on ‘off-the-job’ training.

  • How do I advertise an apprenticeship?

    You can advertise your apprenticeship as you would any job vacancy. If you need help creating an advert – we can do this for you. Once created we will advertise your apprenticeship vacancy on our website.

  • Can you help write a job description?

    Absolutely. Once you have sent an enquiry to the college, you will be allocated a business development advisor. They will have experience in your sector and will be there to support you through the full recruitment process of your apprentice, including job descriptions.

  • What if my apprentice leaves?

    We hope to find you the right match for your job role but if the apprentice we place leaves, simply contact your allocated business development advisor to discuss options for a replacement. If you can’t find the details of your executive, you can contact the team on 01423 879 466.