Annual apprenticeships return

Apprentice levy reporting 2022

Figures required

1. Number of employees recruited during the reporting period
2. Number of apprenticeships begun in the period (includes existing employees not just new recruits)
3. Number of employees at the end of the period
4. Number of apprenticeships at the end of the period
5. B/A %
6. D/C %
7. Number of apprenticeships immediately before the start of the reporting period (Figure D from previous year)
8. Headcount at start of the reporting period (Figure C from previous year)
9. B/H %

The headcount at C and H should include all employees except casuals and career breaks. 

Table A - Headcount and FTE figures include staff in community and controlled schools

Table B - Headcount and FTE figures exclude staff in community and controlled schools

Note FTE for apprentice levy is contract hours/standard hours only. Example - An employee working 37 hours TTO is counted as 1 FTE not 0.83 FTE

Narrative for ESFA

Actions that have been taken to help progress towards meeting the public sector target

• Apprenticeships form part of the corporate learning and development offer and are promoted accordingly including through the Individual Performance Appraisal process
• All approved recruitment is considered as a possible opportunity for an apprenticeship by the councils corporate leadership team
• Bespoke advice and guidance is given to all employees (and their managers) to ensure an understanding of the expectations of apprenticeship
• Involvement in apprenticeship week to promote apprenticeships internally and to share successes
• Conversion of existing employees to an apprenticeship to achieve a qualification that would otherwise have been funded by the service through a different route
• Promotion of higher level apprenticeships to existing staff
• One of the first employers to start social work degree apprenticeships
• Upskilling of the adult social care workforce through apprenticeships
• Senior leadership team are encouraged to promote/champion apprenticeships

Factors that could impact ability to meet target for the next reporting period

• Continuing reduction in the council budget. As a result there are very strict controls on recruitment which limits the opportunities to create new apprenticeship starts
• Converting existing employees to apprenticeships results in a 20% reduction in capacity due to the required time away from the job. Budget pressures since 2011 have led to redundancies and therefore capacity is already extremely limited and this has been further impacted by the additional challenges of the COVID 19 pandemic
• Apprenticeship funding is clawed back if not spent within 24 months and if government rules allowed this could be used to fund apprenticeship salaries and the number of new apprenticeship starts could therefore be increased
• Capacity to manage the work associated with this given that the levy cannot be used to fund any administrative time
• We have a high % of part time workers in the workforce
• The reporting rules only allow the inclusion of apprenticeships in the year they have begun and many apprenticeships last 18 months and up to 4 years and these reduce the council’s capacity to offer additional apprenticeship starts

How are we planning to ensure we meet the target in future?

• All approved recruitment will continue to be considered as a possible opportunity for an apprenticeship by the councils corporate leadership team
• Apprenticeships will remain part of the corporate learning and development offer and will be continually promoted
• Conversion of existing employees to an apprenticeship will continue where capacity allows and this makes sound business sense
• Work will continue to promote apprenticeships
• Apprenticeships will continue to form part of succession planning
• Apprenticeships will help to increase leadership capacity
• Apprenticeships will support ‘grow your own’ programmes designed to plug recruitment/skills gaps