Apprenticeships Process
For Primary Care Employers within Lancashire and South Cumbria
This will help with:
- Finding out more about apprenticeships
- Choosing and applying for an apprenticeship
- Understanding responsibilities when supporting an apprentice on programme
If you require additional information or assistance, please refer to the ‘Queries and Contacts’ section at the bottom of this page
Application
Employer
Step 1 : Choose Apprenticeship
Choose your preferred course and education provider using the course options and information on the Training Hub’s Apprenticeship Comparison Tool (ACT)
On the ACT you will find;
- Course details (such as entry requirements, teaching structure, intakes and application timeframes)
- Any employer training grants
- Any further support/information for Primary Care applications
- A link to the relevant Apprenticeship Standard. Each Apprenticeship Standard lists the knowledge, skills and behaviours that need to be achieved during that apprenticeship (via a mix of theory and practical learning). Please review these to help you identify which apprenticeship best meets your requirements.
Please make use of the comparison functionality. If you are not familiar with this, there are instructions in the bottom left of the ACT landing page.
If you are interested in a provider that is not currently on the ACT, please let us know so we can advise of next steps as we can still assist you.
Employer
Step 2 : Complete Expression of Interest Form
Complete the Training Hub’s Expression of Interest Form (EOI) as soon as possible
Within the form you will confirm key details including your preferred course, education provider and intake. If additional information is needed to help you make a decision, use the ‘Queries and Contacts’ section at the bottom of this page to find out who is best to contact
- for course queries please contact the Education Provider directly (contact details are on ACT)
- For tuition, additional funding, procurement and placements queries please contact the Training Hub apprenticeship team.
Training Hub
Step 3 : Review Expression of Interest and Start Application
The Training Hub apprenticeship team will review your EOI and contact you if further information is needed. We will then start your application, which includes:
- Email Employer to confirm application has been started and provide useful instructions. Candidate will be copied in, and when relevant so will the locality General Practice Education Facilitator (GPEF).
- Email Education Provider to notify them of a new application. Education Provider will get in touch directly with Employer to provide Education Provider’s instructions.
We need to monitor progress of applications in order to effectively assist. Please do keep us informed of your progress/any changes.
Focus on programme suitability for Primary Care. If there are aspects that can be improved, please feedback to both the Education Provider and Training Hub
All
Clinical Courses Only : Place of Work Checks
ACT course information and/or email instructions sent to the Employer will indicate if the following place of work suitability/quality checks are required.
ULE Audit and Supervision Checks: Mandatory requirement for Primary Care applications for Nursing Associate, Nursing, Community Specialist Practitioner and Advanced Clinical Practitioner courses.
- Locality GPEF will support Employer with ULE audit and supervision checks.
- Once approved GPEF submits ULE audit to Education Provider.
NMC Approval:
Employer
Step 4 : Set-Up and/or Update DAS Account
Employing organisations must have a Government Digital Apprenticeship Service (DAS) account AND list their apprentice and course details on to this, in order to complete various mandatory steps, such as;
- Registering apprentice with the Government (during application stage)
- Managing tuition, such as levy/levy transfers/co-investment reservations (during application stage)
- Reporting progress/feedback to the Government (when apprentice is on programme and on completion)
- If recruiting an apprentice, you can also advertise via this account.
To create and/or update your account please use the following guides:
- Guidance created by NHSE North West Levy Team (really useful for creating account and listing apprentice on to account, includes screenshots)
- How to register and use the apprenticeship service as an employer – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
- VIDEO GUIDE: Creating an account on The Apprenticeship Service (DfE youtube.com)
- There can only be one DAS account for an employing organisation. Multiple staff can have admin access rights and this is recommended. If you are unable to access the account, please contact the Gov team on the details below.
Government DAS Account Team Contact Details:
- Visit the Gov DAS knowledge hub to find out more
- Search for help within your DAS account at any time
- Call 08000 150 600 or email [email protected] during our opening times. The Gov Team opening times are 8am to 8pm, Monday to Friday. During opening times, will reply to emails within 4 hours.
Employer
Step 5 : Apply for Tuition Financial Support
Apprenticeship tuition is paid using levy via the Employer’s Government DAS account. Tuition is the apprenticeship course cost. The below instructions relate to tuition financial support only. Any instructions regarding any training grant will be separate/require additional action to the below.
Instructions for Employers who have an annual pay bill of MORE than £3million: Classed as levy-payers, larger employers pay 0.5% of annual pay bill into their own Government levy pot to generate their own levy and use this to pay for apprenticeship tuition. Levy-payers have different options depending on the levy they have available:
- If sufficient levy in levy pot to cover 100% of the tuition: employer must use this to pay the tuition.
- If some levy left in levy pot: employer can reserve a 95% co-investment. This is sometimes called funding reservation/contribution and is when the Government pay 95% of the tuition, with employer paying the remaining 5%. Employer will need to reserve the co-investment via their Apprenticeship Service Account. Funds must be in place prior to the apprenticeship programme start date. Please read more on this option including reservation instructions here: Apprenticeship funding for employers who do not pay the apprenticeship levy – GOV.UK Employers who are applying for a levy transfer can still reserve co-investment funds as a back-up.
- If no funds left in levy pot: employer can apply for 100% levy transfer. This is not guaranteed, but to date has been very successful. Please go to the Non-levy payer section within this guide for more detail and instructions on this option.
Once you know which levy paying option you can proceed with for your application, please update the Training Hub Apprenticeship Team for their records and/or in case they need to provide further support.
If you are unsure which of the above relates to your application, find out more at this Government website which provides useful instructions Pay Apprenticeship Levy – GOV.UK or contact the Government DAS account Team (details within Step 4 ).
Did you know… Levy-payers that expect to have unused apprenticeship levy, can now transfer up to 50% of their annual funds to as many employers as they choose. The NHSE NW Levy Team are able to help you do this.
All Employers must read, agree to, and keep up to date with the Government ESFA Apprenticeship Funding Rules.
Apprenticeship tuition is paid using levy via the Employer’s Government DAS account. Tuition is the apprenticeship course cost. The below instructions relate to tuition financial support only. Any instructions regarding any training grant will be separate/require additional action to the below.
Instructions for Employers who have an annual pay bill of LESS than £3million: Classed as non-levy payers, meaning smaller employers do not pay money into their own Government levy pot to accumulate their own levy. Instead, Non-levy payers have the following options:
- The tuition will be 100% financed by the Government if:
- candidate is aged 16 – 21 when the course starts AND/OR
- employer has fewer than 50 employees and at the start of the course the apprentice is aged between 22 – 24 years old and has either an Education, Health and Care (EHC) plan provided by local authority and / or has been in the care of their local authority.
The Training Provider will advise employers of any steps needed relating to this throughout the course application process. The employer will still need to create / update their Employer DAS account if not done so already.
- Apply for a 100% Levy Transfer: Primary Care and Social Care employers have the option to apply for a levy transfer (levy gifted from another organisation) to cover 100% of the tuition. In Lancashire and South Cumbria this is facilitated by the NHSE North West Levy Team who require as much notice as possible, but no less than 2-3 months. Funds must be in place (and showing correctly on the Employer’s DAS account and HEI’s DAS account) prior to the apprenticeship course start date. This is usually very successful.
- Primary Care Employers must email the NHSE NW Levy Team on [email protected] and request Levy Transfer instructions (action this asap, once your course application has started).
- Social Care Employers must email Dawn Werra, Social Care Apprenticeship Lead, confirming they require this, so Dawn can request instructions on your behalf.
If a levy transfer is unable to be secured, Employer will need to reserve a 95% co-investment (see details below).
- Reserve a 95% co-investment: This is sometimes called a funding reservation/contribution and is when the Government pay 95% of the tuition, with employer paying the remaining 5%. Employer will need to reserve the co-investment via their DAS account. Funds must be in place prior to the apprenticeship course start date. Please read more on this option including reservation instructions here: Apprenticeship funding for employers who do not pay the apprenticeship levy – GOV.UK Employers who are applying for a levy transfer can still reserve co-investment funds as a back-up.
All Employers must read, agree to, and keep up to date with the Government ESFA Apprenticeship Funding Rules.
Education Provider
Step 6 : Education Provider's Main Application Stages
The Education Provider is to organise:
- Onboarding meeting with employer to discuss: programme in detail; Education Provider support for employer and learner; employer support for learner; any individual arrangements such as part-time employment
- Candidate Interview – Employer representative must be present
- Send Employer relevant Education Provider documents directly (incl. NMC paperwork where relevant) and support with queries
Depending on the course applying for, there may be certain requirements that are the Employer’s responsibility, such as Enhanced DBS and Occupational Health checks. The Education Provider should advise you of these.
Training Hub
Step 7 : Request Procurement Contract
Many Education Provider’s apprenticeship courses are approved provision for NHS Health and Care via the NHS Salisbury Managed Procurement Services (SMPS). This will be detailed in the ‘Listed as an Approved Provider under an NHS Procurement’ section on the ACT course page. More information on SMPS and current procurements can be found here (if you have difficulty registering for access to the SMPS page email [email protected] for an invitation) .
If a course is approved via SMPS, it is highly encouraged that contracts between the education provider and employer are created by SMPS to ensure that the contract contains all the elements that the education provider agreed to for the procurement.
- The training hub apprenticeship team start this process on behalf of Primary Care employers in L&SC, by completing and submitting the Salisbury Procurement URN form (following successful candidate interview stage)
- Salisbury Procurement team will then send Employer full instructions and the electronic contract to the Employer and then Education Provider for signatures.
If a course is not approved under SMPS, Primary Care employers are still able to apply for the course and will sign the standard Education Provider contract.
It is crucial that all steps are completed and all documents returned in a timely manner in order to meet deadlines and reduce risk of a delayed start
Employer
Nurse and Nursing Associate Courses Only : Order Uniform
…
Employer
Step 8 : Document Checks
- For the Tuition, accept Levy Transfer OR reserve co-investment (if applicable) – NHSE Levy Team can support
- Submit any final application documents to Education Provider – check-in with the Education Provider regularly to ensure you have returned all relevant documents in a timely manner. This is important as different education providers have different deadlines throughout their application process.
- Sign Salisbury Procurement contract electronically (if applicable)
- Check you have completed all steps of this step-by-step guide
- Finalise your internal preparations for your apprentice starting on programme – please do check the below sections to see what support is available to you.
Education Provider
Step 9 : Enrolment
Education Provider will send the successful candidate and employer any final instructions relating to enrolment.
The Education Provider will also confirm to the Training Hub apprenticeship team when the apprentice has commenced on programme.
If Employer has any queries about information required prior to the course starting, contact the Education Provider and copy the Training Hub
On Programme
All
All parties commit to regularly update each other of any significant changes to the apprenticeship, such as potential break in learning, in order to work collaboratively to create appropriate solutions and for the purposes of accurate reporting.
Employer
- Arrangements of placements (where relevant). A placement guide with more details will be available soon – Ask your GPEF for more information.
- Approach HEI for advice regarding programme progress
- Provide feedback to L&SC PCTH at any time via feedback form.
- Complete Training Hub’s apprenticeship feedback forms, which are sent to employer half-way through programme and after completion.
- Any funding/training grant queries contact the relevant training grant team directly (where relevant)
Apprentice
- Education Provider will confirm the apprentice’s full responsibilities.
- Check the Training Hub website’s event calendar and relevant profession page to see if any training / resources towards apprenticeship practical learning time. Always check suitability first with your course tutor and work place supervisor.
Education Provider
- Organise regular progress review meetings (must happen at least every 12 weeks and include Employer representative, Apprentice and HEI)
- Raise concerns regarding programme progress with Employer and TH Apprenticeship team
- Provide updates to TH team for reporting purposes
Training Hub
- Support with main placements via Locality Teams (where relevant)
- Additional support available via GPEFs, PCCAs, ACP lead, Locality teams, Forums and groups
- Quality assurance via Raising Concerns Process
Queries and Contacts
With any query please copy in / update the Training Hub Apprenticeship Team [email protected] incase we can support you further
Course queries –
- If at enquiry or application stage, first use the ACT. If further information is needed contact the Education Provider directly (contact details are on the ACT course page)
- If apprentice is on programme,
Tuition queries –
- Course cost is detailed on the ACT course page
- Guidance on how to apply for tuition financial support is in the Application section above (Step 5)
- If you have already contacted the NHSE NW Levy Team regarding a levy transfer, refer to any instructions the Levy Team have sent you. If further advice is needed contact the Levy Team directly [email protected]
- If Employer has been sent an invoice regarding course tuition, notify the Training Hub Apprenticeship Team [email protected] and we can check this for you.
Training Grant queries –
Placement and/or Audit (ULE) queries –
NMC paperwork queries –
Procurement/Contract queries –
Uniform queries –