What we do

Overview

The National Employer Service (NES) provides expert, impartial advice on whole workforce development strategies (from pre-employment, Skills for Life and level 2 and 3 qualifications, through Apprenticeships at levels 2, 3 and 4, to higher education) to all national, multi-site employers with more than 5000 employees, accompanied by a range of funding support.

NES was created to put skills and training at the top of the corporate agenda. We challenge employers on their ambition, engagement and investment in skills. We work to develop the scale and effectiveness of training, connecting and enabling employers to share best practice and co-invest in the cost of increasing the number of high skill, high performance people that give the UK competitive advantage.

We are part of the National Apprenticeship Service and work on behalf of the Department for Business Innovation and Skills and the Skills Funding Agency

NES helps employers understand, develop and invest in large scale, highly cost-effective embedded training programmes by enabling them to procure, promote and deliver the training they need in the way that works best for their businesses.

Our approach to funding is one of shared contribution, with government and employers co-investing in the frontline training that creates economically valuable skills. This means channeling any public investment to areas where it delivers the greatest value for money and catalyses the skilled jobs that will be needed in the British economy of the future. NES companies closely measure the return on this joint public-private investment.

Our service gives employers personalised account management through a single point of contact. This makes navigating the policy environment and interacting with partners in the skills system (such as Jobcentre Plus, Awarding Bodies, Sector Skills Councils, training providers and colleges, Foundation Degree Forward and the Higher Education Funding Council) as straightforward as possible. We actively help companies make things simpler through measures to reduce bureaucracy and paperwork.

NES companies are a vital network of the country’s top employers who understand that investing in the skills of their people improves productivity and competitiveness.