Guide for Employers

Nottingham Trent University is a great place to study. It is an innovative, vibrant University where staff and students help us deliver education and research that shapes lives and delivers an outstanding student experience. Nottingham Trent University has been awarded a gold rating in the Government’s Teaching Excellence Framework for its outstanding teaching and learning.

Our research here at Nottingham Trent University (NTU) is world-class, in recognition of that we have been awarded a Queen's Anniversary Prize for Higher and Further Education. We are also extremely proud to have been awarded the Times Higher Education Awards University of the Year and Modern University of the Year.

NTU’s beginnings can be traced back to 1843, when the Nottingham Government School of design opened. Over the previous 180 years we have been delivering education and learning to help employers face new challenges and filling their skills needs. The last few years have been some of the most successful in our history.

We have been successfully delivering in-company training and learning programmes for over 20 years. We began delivering Degree Apprenticeships in 2016 and we currently have over 2,200 Apprentices on our courses from over 617 employers, these range from small local businesses to global, multi-national organisations.

In the 2024 NTU Apprenticeship Employer Survey, 92% of employers that we work with stated that they would recommend NTU to other employers for apprenticeship training provision. Take a look at what our employers think on our employer reviews page.

The Education and Skills Funding Agency’s Apprenticeship Funding Rules require a number of documents to be agreed between the employer, NTU as the training provider and the Apprentice. These documents include:

• Employer Agreement: An agreement signed by both NTU and the employer.
• Training Plan: A document outlining the apprenticeship program, signed by NTU, the employer and the Apprentice.
• Apprenticeship Agreement: A formal agreement between the employer and the Apprentice.
• Individual Needs Analysis (INA) : Assesses the apprentice’s prior knowledge and skills.

These documents have to be signed and in place before the start of the Apprenticeship. If they are not your Apprentice will not be allowed to start their learning.

We also require accurate and up to date details for the following personnel at the employer:

• Main Apprenticeship Contact
• Apprentice’s Line Manager
• Apprentice’s Workplace Mentor

Should these details change throughout the duration of the apprenticeship, please contact apprenticeships@ntu.ac.uk to inform us of the updated details.

NTU will issue an Employer Agreement, which details the terms and conditions for the Apprenticeship and the proposed payment schedule. The employer is required to sign and return this before the start of the Apprenticeship programme.  If you prefer to use your own organisation’s employer agreement, please let us know in plenty of time as discussions between relevant legal departments can take some time to conclude.

NTU will also issue a Training Plan to the employer and Apprentice which sets out the details of the Apprenticeship and how the Apprentice will be supported to enable successful achievement of their agreed learning programme.

You will also be asked to provide copies of each Apprentice’s Apprenticeship Agreement and a copy of your organisation’s health and safety policy and Employer’s Liability Insurance Certificate, prior to the Apprentice starting.

Further guidance on Apprenticeship Agreements is available and can be found on the .Gov.uk website.

Please contact the Apprenticeships Team as soon as possible if there are, or there are expected to be, any changes to an Apprentice’s employment or personal circumstances, as these changes may affect the Apprentice’s eligibility for Apprenticeship funding or impact on the planned duration of the Apprenticeship.

This can include changes to the Apprentice’s employment such as:

• Changing working hours
• Changing job roles
• Being made redundant or being put at risk of redundancy
• Apprentice’s resignation
• Long term sickness or ill-health
• If the Apprentice is planning to take parental leave in excess of 4 weeks, or to be absent from work for longer than a four week period. This may require a ‘Break In Learning’ to be implemented.
• Any change to the employer’s main apprenticeship contact or the Apprentice’s line manger and/or workplace mentor

If you are a large organisation that is ‘in scope’ for the Apprenticeship Levy, all relevant payments are made via the University’s and the employer’s Apprenticeship Service (AS) Accounts. For further help, see the government's video explainer about the Apprenticeship Service.

If you are an organisation that is not ‘in scope’ for the Apprenticeship Levy, you will be required to make a payment that is equivalent to 5% of the total cost of the Apprenticeship training, (the Government pays the remaining 95%). In this case, the University will invoice the employer for their contribution and this will be set out in the payment schedule, which forms part of the Employer Agreement.

In order to secure the Government’s 95% contribution to the training costs of your Apprenticeship you will be required to register an account on the Government’s Apprenticeship Service website. This is a relatively simple process, which can be completed in 15 minutes.

Once you have established your account on the Apprenticeship Service you will need to reserve the funding for your Apprentice(s) within your account. For further information, see the government's video explainer on adding an apprentice to an account.

All of this needs to be in place before the start of the Apprenticeship. If it is not your Apprentice will not be allowed to start their learning

You can reserve funds for your Apprentice up to 3-months before the Apprenticeship starts and we recommend that you reserve the funds you need as soon as you can to avoid disappointment should the Apprenticeship budget be over-subscribed.

If you are a non-levy payer, you may be able to receive 100% of the costs for the training of your Apprentice through a ‘Levy Transfer’. A member of the Apprenticeship Team will be able to explain how this works and whether we are able to find a suitable ‘gifting’ organisation with whom we can put you in contact with.

The INA assesses the apprentice's prior knowledge, experience and skills. This is completed by the apprentices during the application stage.

Apprenticeship place offers cannot be made to applicants until the INA is completed and uploaded to their application.

Health & Safety is a tri-partite responsibility, between the University, the employer and the employee, throughout the duration of an Apprenticeship.

Apprentices are employees of the employer, so whilst in the workplace they are covered by your employers Health & Safety policy. When they attend their learning, whether on-campus or off-campus, they are students of the University and as such covered by the University’s Health & Safety policy.

During the enrolment and induction process the employers of all potential Apprentices undergo checks to ensure that in so far as is reasonably practicable the potential Apprentice will be employed and working in a safe working environment.  These include checking the following:

• That a company Health & Safety Policy exists.
• A process for Risk Assessment & Control is evident.
• Appropriate procedures for reporting accidents and incidents exist.
• Health & Safety management is accounted for.
• There is a process for training employees in Health & Safety measures.

This is collected as a part of the Apprentice’s on-boarding and enrolment process.

‘Safeguarding’ is the process of protecting vulnerable people, whether from crime or other forms of abuse.

All organisations that work with or come into contact with children and/or vulnerable adults must have safeguarding policies and procedures to ensure that everyone, regardless of their age, disability, gender identity, race, religion or belief (including no belief), sex or sexual orientation has protection from harm. Accordingly, NTU has a responsibility to uphold an environment in which all learners feel safe and is required to make arrangements to safeguard and promote the welfare of children and vulnerable adults. This means:

• Protecting vulnerable adults from maltreatment
• Preventing impairment of health and development
• Ensuring circumstances which are consistent with provision of safe and effective care
• Taking action to enable all Apprentices to achieve the best outcome

NTU’s Safeguarding children and vulnerable adults’ policy can be found on the following page:

• Safeguarding children and vulnerable adults | Nottingham Trent University

This policy contains guidelines and procedures for protecting the safety and welfare of children and vulnerable adults participating in University activities or visiting University premises.

For Apprentices, safeguarding applies to the workplace as well as the time spent at University.

‘Prevent’ refers to the Government’s Prevent Strategy originally created in 2007 as a direct result of the 7/7 bombings in 2005. Prevent forms part of the Contest Strategy, which is the Government’s overarching strategy to keep the public safe from terrorism. Prevent was updated in 2011 and again in 2018. The latest version of the Contest Strategy can be found on the following page:

• Contest Strategy – The United Kingdom’s Strategy for Countering Terrorism

NTU is a “specified authority” under Section 26 of the Counter-Terrorism and Security Act 2015 and as such has a statutory duty to give due regard to the need to prevent people from being drawn into terrorism.

To comply with this duty, NTU:

• has appropriate policy and procedures in place to respond to the ideological challenge of terrorism and the threat faced from those who promote it
• has appropriate policy and procedures in place for the management of external speakers and events
• strives to safeguard and support those most at risk of radicalisation through early identification, intervention and support
• ensures all staff undertake regular Prevent awareness training
• ensures all staff working with young people and vulnerable adults undertake Safeguarding training
• has processes in place for managing safe recruitment of staff, and that staff working with young people and vulnerable adults are subject to an enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service check
• ensures that Safeguarding and Prevent are covered with Apprentices during induction and that Apprentices know how to contact the Designated Safeguarding Officers within the University
• maintains open channels of communication with each employer

The Employer’s Role

Employers have a duty to comply with all current and future UK legislation in regard to Safeguarding and Prevent. There is a particular expectation that employers should:

• familiarise themselves with the Government legislation
• take steps to understand what Safeguarding and Prevent means in practice within the context of their organisation and their responsibilities for the staff they employ
• ensure that staff working with Apprentices in a position of trust are appropriate for that role
• ensure that staff working with young people or vulnerable adults have had an appropriate check completed with the Disclosure and Barring Service
• where possible, identify a person to coordinate Safeguarding and Prevent across the organisation
• take responsibility for an Apprentice’s welfare in the workplace and to seek appropriate advice when they feel an Apprentice may be at risk in their personal lives

Should you have a Safeguarding and/or Prevent concern relating to the place of work or the University, you should in the first instance report this to the Apprentice’s academic tutor.

In the event that this is not possible, you should contact the University’s Designated Safeguarding Officer, listed below:

• Sarah Bustard, Head of Student Health & Well-Being
• Email: sarah.bustard@ntu.ac.uk
• Phone: 0115 848 6345

View NTU's Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Policy

Off-the-job training is a statutory requirement of all apprenticeships. It is training undertaken, during normal working hours, for the purpose of achieving the knowledge, skills and behaviours of the apprenticeship.

Off-the-job training must make up part of your apprentice’s normal working hours (paid hours excluding overtime) over the duration of the training period of your apprenticeship and can be delivered in a normal place of work or at an external location e.g. university.

The amount of off-the-job training required depends on your apprenticeship start date. Refer to the table below to see how much is needed.

A variety of learning activities can count towards off-the-job training. The key steps to determining what counts as off-the-job training are:

1. Is it directly relevant to the apprenticeship standard?
2. Is it teaching new knowledge, skills, values or behaviours?
3. Is it taking place within normal working hours (excluding overtime)?
4. Is it English or maths above level 2 (e.g. maths module in your level 6 degree programme)?

If the answer to all 4 is yes, then it counts as off-the-job training.

Below are some examples of off-the-job training:

• The teaching of theory e.g. lectures, role playing, simulation exercises, online learning, or manufacturer training
• Practical training e.g. shadowing, mentoring, industry visits and attending conferences and exhibitions
• Learning support and time spent writing assessments and assignments
• Research, networking events and seminars (if they support learning new knowledge, skills or behaviours)

Off-the-job training does not include:

• Any training that is not a requirement of the apprenticeship standard
• Progress reviews or on-programme assessment required by the apprenticeship standard
• Training outside of your paid working hours
• English and maths (up to level 2) for example, Functional Skills
• Time required for the End-Point-Assessment (EPA)

The University will calculate the total off-the-job training hours required for your apprentice based on their paid hours over the duration of the training period of the apprenticeship. Any statutory annual leave entitlement and the EPA period will be deducted in this calculation. The off-the-job training total will be recorded in the:

1. Apprenticeship Agreement
2. Training Plan

You will receive and be required to sign both documents prior to commencing the apprenticeship.

Logging off-the-job training is your apprentice’s responsibility and they are required to update their off-the-job training log monthly. It is a Gateway condition that they have accessed and logged at least the total off-the-job training hours listed in their Apprenticeship Agreement and Training Plan. If this cannot be evidenced, they will not be able to complete the End-Point Assessment (EPA) and this can result in a delay in completing the apprenticeship.

At NTU (Nottingham Trent University), we use an apprenticeship Aptem program to log off-the-job training hours. When logging off-the-job activity in Aptem, apprentices should include:

• What? S brief description of the training they did (e.g. attended a lecture on professional development, researched information systems…)
• Where? State where the training took place
• When? Provide a time and date for the training
• Duration? How many hours did you spend doing the training

If you would like to receive a regular report regarding your apprentice's progress, simply ask your account manager, or contact askapprenticeships@ntu.ac.uk if you aren't sure who your account manager is.

Progress reports are typically sent to employers on a quarterly bases, however if you would prefer to receive them more or less frequently, again, speak to your account manager and they'll work with you to provide the information you need.

NTU provides regular information to employers relating to their Apprentice’s progress throughout their learning journey at the University. This information will help provide a range of intelligence and information for you to ensure that your apprentice remains on track to successfully complete their apprenticeship qualification, including:

• Attendance
• Academic progress
• Off-the-job hours tracked vs expected
• Comments or concerns, if appropriate

You will also have access to your apprentice's progress in Aptem, which will allow you to self-serve this key information whenever you need it. To find out more about Aptem, visit the Aptem section above.

Workplace progress review meetings take place every 12-weeks and are designed as a formal point where progress is reviewed as well as attendance and engagement levels.

Outside of these times you will be contacted regularly by your NTU account manager who will be able to keep you updated with your Apprentice(s) attendance, engagement and progress.

NTU has one the UK's largest employer engagement teams for apprenticeships within a university.

With a team of dedicated account managers covering all the apprenticeship programmes on offer at NTU, there is always somebody available for you to speak to regarding your apprentices.

If you would like to speak to a member of the Employer Engagement Team, please contact askapprenticeships@ntu.ac.uk.