Pros and cons of being an employer-provider

Hiring an apprentice within a business is a big commitment - so it's worth thinking carefully about the best way to do it.  

If you're thinking about hiring apprentices, there are two ways to go.  

You can either work with a professional training provider, who'll deliver the apprenticeship for you. Or you can become an employer-provider and deliver the training yourself. Many businesses choose this route - tempted by the opportunity to develop staff, maintain quality training and make the most of your levy - but it's not always easy. 

To help you get ahead of the game, experts from OneFile have summarised the main pros and cons to help you decide whether to commit:  

The pros 

Ensure quality

As an employer-provider, your team will have full control over managing apprenticeship funding, delivering training, supporting learners, and maintaining quality. Your staff can track the entire apprenticeship process and develop a pipeline of talented workers with skills that meet apprenticeship standards.  

Customise training to your company needs 

As an employer-provider, you can also customise content to meet the specific objectives of your business, planning training around your company needs. It's likely you could use existing training resources and company documents to support this.  

Make the most of your levy  

Being an employer-provider will help you to make the most of your levy payments - where applicable. You'll be in control of the whole apprenticeship process - from funding to delivery and quality. You also won't have to negotiate delivery prices with training providers, because you'll be delivering cost-effective training in house.  

This all gives you the potential to maximise efficiency at every stage.  

The cons 

The costs 

You can't become an employer-provider for free, as there's a lot of planning, organisation, management and admin involved.  

You'll either need to hire quality specialists, admin staff and tutors, as a direct expense. Or you can invest in training and upskilling your existing staff. There's a time cost involved in removing existing staff from their normal duties to plan, support and deliver apprenticeships - but it will increase their skillset.   

Maintaining quality  

As an employer-provider, you'll need to prioritise quality. Ofsted will visit you within your first year of delivery, so it's helpful to have the right tools, people and processes in place before you start delivering apprenticeships. Using a learning software is the easiest way to manage quality, as the full audit trail is recorded online.   

Keeping on top of regulation  

Apprenticeship regulations are prone to change. You'll need to nominate a member of staff to keep on top of legislation and make sure you stay compliant.  This includes aspects like applying to be on the Apprenticeship Providers and Assessment Register (APAR). 

To find out exactly how to become an employer-provider, download our free guide. It covers everything you need to know - from applying to the RoATP to planning, funding and delivery.