Recruiting an apprentice

Workforce planning

Workforce planning provides a vehicle for institutions to think ahead and consider options for training existing staff into new roles, filling posts in advance, or introducing new services. Equally, workforce planning can help expose areas where staff might need re-training as current work demands change.

The consequence of not planning can include: loss of critical operational knowledge; lack of career development for current staff; and an interruption of an important service.

The basic process is straightforward. Taking the institution’s strategic and financial plans into account, consider:

1. Identify roles which are critical to the institution’s operations
2. Which of these are in areas in which it is difficult to recruit?
3. In which of these roles might a vacancy arise soon?

(School (or equivalent) HR teams can provide data to support this process.)

There are a number of potential responses including:

1. It doesn’t matter: although critical at present, this role is not needed in the future, or it is going to be outsourced
2. The role is essential and/or evolving. The institution will revise the role description and advertise internally, funding permitting. (Consider training a ‘generalist’ to become a ‘specialist’.)
3. Recruit a specialist, with or without an overlap
4. Retraining an employee from an area of activity which is reducing

Institutions may find it helpful to use this 5-step guide: workforce planning.

Institutions should regularly review their analysis and planned response. Long term plans should include the use of Apprenticeships.

Recruitment

Recruitment to an apprenticeship is similar to the standard University recruitment process. 

The flowchart under the useful resources section of this website provides further guidance on the recruitment process.  You must ensure that you have sign off to fill your apprentice vacancy before starting the recruitment process.

The table below sets out the salary scale points that should be used for new apprentices, depending on the level of apprenticeship they are completing.

There may be occasions where it is appropriate to offer a higher salary scale to those shown in the chart, for example in particularly competitive areas where vacancies are difficult to fill.  In such circumstances please contact the Apprenticeship Team to discuss and to ensure a consistent and fair approach

The advertising process for apprenticeships is different to standard procedures.  To advertise an apprenticeship:

• set the apprenticeship up through an approved training provider (ATP), who will advertise the apprenticeship on the government apprenticeships website.  (‘Recruit an Apprentice’ is the official service for posting and managing apprenticeship vacancies in England).  The ATP will also supervise the apprentice’s learning, including their training and assessment.
• advertise the vacancy on the University vacancies website and all other relevant routes.

Other routes:

• AV Live (Apprenticeship Vacancies Live) - a government online tool that allows streaming of apprenticeship vacancies on your website.
• local advertising routes.