Shipley College | Apprenticeships for Employers

Shipley College 16 18 Full Time T Levels 2

WHAT ARE APPRENTICESHIPS?

Most people have heard of Apprenticeships, but what do they mean these days?
 
Apprenticeships are fixed-term jobs, where the apprentice learns the skills required to work in your organisation and in that job role. This means the training is ongoing throughout, and the apprentice is always working towards an apprenticeship standard and/or qualification.

The apprentice will usually be in the workplace but will spend time learning through flexible training options as well. You as the employer, will provide on-the-job training and Shipley College will handle the curriculum. You will be fully supported throughout - we both want the apprentice to succeed!

Apprenticeships can be a real asset to your organisation - as a great way to develop your existing staff or recruit enthusiastic new apprentices into your workforce to learn the ways of your organisation.

APPRENTICESHIPS UNLOCKED EVENT AT SHIPLEY COLLEGE

WEDNESDAY 11TH FEBRUARY 2026

BOOK AN EXHIBITOR STAND FOR OUR EVENT

Apprenticeships Unlocked is an annual event hosted by Shipley College in partnership with SkillsHouse Bradford, Keighley College, Bradford College and West Yorkshire Consortium of Colleges, offering people the chance to find out more about local apprenticeship opportunities and the many vacancies available across the Bradford district to connect companies with potential new employees.

Previous Apprenticeships Unlocked events have seen around 40 employer exhibitors and over 250 potential employees attend - a fantastic turn out! We will be hosting our fourth event on Tuesday 11th February 2026.

The event will take place at Victoria Hall in Saltaire, and previous events have been filled with employers from sectors such as IT & Digital, Manufacturing, Public Services and Engineering, offering visitors a wide range of vacancies and careers to choose from, and often finding an apprentice to fill their vacancy through the event.

Apprenticeships are a great option for people of any age, they can get hands-on experience in their preferred field, earn a salary and gain a valuable qualification all at the same time. For employers, they are a great way to recruit keen new junior staff and train them in the details of your business, while they study a relevant qualification alongside.

We have been fortunate enough to receive funding to host the event free of charge in previous years, however next year this funding will not exist so the cost of the stall will be £25.

We hope you can join us.

BOOK YOUR STAND HERE NOW

Upon completion of your booking, we will send you further details about the event.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Apprentices are definitely a cost-effective way to recruit enthusiastic and talented new staff into your business, and they can also provide a fantastic opportunity for a local young person to get on the career ladder.

They can allow you to fill junior positions, allowing more established members of your staff to get on with more pressing matters, and they can bring new energy to your team while doing so.

The apprentice will be employed like any other employee in your organisation in terms of legislation, management, reporting and contracts of employment, so those parts won’t be any different. Where there will be difference, though, is in the support you will receive - for example, from the College’s apprenticeship team, throughout the entire recruitment and selection process. In fact, the support can begin before that, just to help you decide what your recruitment and selection processes might be.

There is also a government incentive payment of up to £1000, based on the age of the apprentice and a couple of other factors, that could be claimed back for each apprentice you take on.

All in all, apprenticeships can be an excellent, economical and worthy way to grow your business.

Here at Shipley College we have been delivering high-quality Apprenticeships for over 30 years.

Our dedicated apprenticeship team will help guide you through all aspects of recruiting an apprentice, supporting them to achieve nationally accredited vocational qualifications and seeing them flourish as part of your business.

We will provide you with personalised, professional advice that is tailored to your organisation’s needs, and we can also - and this is one of the major ones! - explain all aspects of costs and funding to you.

We can discuss the best ways for you to recruit and select your apprentice, and we have a database of young people who are looking for an apprenticeship, so can match you with suitable candidates.

For the curriculum taught aspects of the apprenticeship, we will provide expert tutors with relevant industry knowledge and backgrounds, and we’ll review progress and provide feedback throughout.

In short, from the very start we will support and guide you and work together throughout to ensure that the person and apprenticeship programme meet the needs of your business

Contact us at apprenticeships@shipley.ac.uk to start the conversation and see what we can do for you.

There is various funding available to UK businesses in regard to taking on apprentices, including the levy system, and government incentive payments. You will also need to understand the minimum payment aspects - and many employers increase apprentice salaries as they continue to prove their value to the business.

The financial side of taking on apprentices can be one of the most appealing aspects. Please contact the Apprenticeship Team on apprenticeships@shipley.ac.uk  or 01274 327390 to discuss your specific circumstances.

Meet the Apprentice - West End Golf Club, Halifax

"THIS IS THE FIRST TIME WE HAVE HAD AN APPRENTICE IN THE IT OPERATIONS TEAM AND SO WE DIDN'T KNOW QUITE WHAT TO EXPECT, BUT IT HAS BROUGHT FRESH TALENT AND ENERGY TO OUR GROUP."

Having an apprentice has been a cost-effective way to build our team, assisting with tasks such as software updates, system maintenance, and troubleshooting, allowing us to free up senior staff to focus on more complex projects. Most importantly, we have been able to provide an opportunity for a young person to gain practical on-the-job experience and training, which will be invaluable in their future career (though we hope they choose to stay with us once the apprenticeship ends).

Overall, having an apprentice working with us has brought many benefits to our team and wider school, from cost savings, technical expertise, to helping us look at problems and solutions with a fresh perspective."

– Graham Rogers, Titus Salt School
 

CONTACT US

To start discussing finding an apprentice that is right for you, or using apprenticeships to upskill any of your current staff members, the benefits and costs involved, or even if you may be thinking of recruiting an apprentice in something not currently listed - please start by contacting us using the form below, or call us on 01274 327390.

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"OUR INITIAL INTRODUCTION WITH SHIPLEY COLLEGE IN 2021 WAS VERY WELCOMING AND INFORMATIVE."

It was clearly explained to our staff what was required and if anything was unclear it was always explained or passed to others who could help.

Since taking apprentices we have found the college to be very supportive of their learners. They are conscientious to ensure all learners attend college each week, and inform us if they are absent. There are regular reviews which I find valuable to be part of too. On an occasion where we had to call a meeting with a learner, college were very prompt and supportive to attend the meeting for the problem to be resolved.

We would not hesitate to take on more apprentices from Shipley College."

- Sue Tyson, Grove House