What we do

Apprenticeships

The National Employer Service (NES) works in tandem with the National Apprenticeship Service which is a new agency with overall responsibility for promoting and supporting Apprenticeships in England.

The National Employer Service provides impartial, specialist advice on Apprenticeships exclusively to national, multi-site employers with more than 5000 employees, supported by a direct funding contract. NES employers currently deliver 20% of all England’s Apprenticeships.

An Apprenticeship is designed to develop the knowledge, skills and judgment required in a modern workplace. It takes the form of a journey, with the apprentice moving from being a relative novice to becoming an expert in an occupational field, supported by experienced colleagues.

Apprenticeships are a framework of qualifications that can be used as development for all staff or, more traditionally, as an entry route for young people to the business.

An Apprenticeship framework normally consists of an NVQ, a Technical Certificate and Functional Skills, approved by a Sector Skills Council. NES helps employers to customise the delivery of their Apprenticeship programme to meet strategic business needs. Employers can embed each Apprenticeship element into in-house training so that it becomes “business as usual”, opt for the programme to be delivered off site or deliver a mixture of the two.

Where there is not a perfect match of Apprenticeship Framework to job, employers are encouraged to work with their Sector Skills Council and the National Apprenticeship Service to update the framework to industry requirements.