Host Employers

Host Employers

Ap Prentis offers a model which is like a recruitment agency and employment agency all rolled into one. The “Apprenticeship Training Agency” (ATA) model specialises in providing Apprenticeship opportunities for young people in the region.

The distinctive feature of the ATA model is that it is the ATA who acts as the apprentice employer and who places them with a host employer. The host employer pays the ATA a fee for the apprentices’ services; this fee being based on the wage agreed with the host.

Key features include:

• complementary recruitment and selection service that can help you find the most suitable Apprentice
• the process of recruiting an Apprentice is made as easy as possible for both the host and the applicant
• work with you on designing your advert and then post your vacancy on an array of job vacancy platforms including “Apprenticeship Vacancy Service”‘ an Apprenticeship recruitment search tool used by thousands of young people in Wales
• screen applications and provide you with a shortlist of candidates that suit your requirements, for you to interview and from which to select
• support you through the candidate selection process, selecting the best standard of applicant for you to interview
• guide you from recruitment through to quality training delivery. We will link you with a local apprenticeship training provider and support you and your Apprentice to ensure they achieve their qualifications.
• employ the Apprentice and operate a monthly payroll on your behalf
• provide support to both host and apprentice during the time on programme

Ap Prentis will manage the apprenticeship journey for a management fee, which will be invoiced monthly following each payroll run. The Apprenticeship salary can range from the minimum apprenticeship wage rate up to the living wage rate and this will be determined by the host employer.

Benefits of hosting an Apprentice includes:

• encouraging your workforce to become more motivated, skilled and qualified.
• enables you to play an active role in moulding your future workforce and creating the future skills that are needed to help your business grow.
• an Apprentice can contribute to the long term development and competitiveness of your business. An Apprentice can help boost productivity and brings in homegrown talent.
• attracts new talent, enables your business to offer progression and develop an Apprentice to a higher qualification standard than ever before.
• enables you to grow your team while keeping staff costs down
• investing in an Apprentice’s career, you increase the chances of up-skilling and more importantly, maintaining highly skilled staff.

Ap Prentis also recognises the short term nature of some businesses reliant on sub-contracting projects with short contract periods. We therefore provide a shared apprenticeship model that allows for this limited duration of opportunity whilst taking full responsibility for the individuals’ apprenticeship and all associated employer obligations.

What are the host employer obligations?

The host provides a work placement for the apprentice for the duration of their apprenticeship and is charged an hourly fee; this fee covers the trainee’s wages, holiday and sick pay, employer’s NI contributions and includes a 20% administration charge. If the host finds themselves in a situation where they have no more work for the apprentice, Ap Prentis will arrange for the apprentice to move to another host to continue their apprenticeship.