Apprenticeships are at the forefront of the government’s plan for skills recovery for 2022. This year has already seen a huge push for skills training and development, with the launch of government-backed initiatives that are driving training opportunities designed to upskill and unlock potential.
It means that more than ever before, apprenticeships are a route employers can use to attract new talent and develop valuable career pathways for their people – and make the most of a levy that they’re already paying into.
Because of growing opportunities to support employees across industries, companies that manage their own in-house apprenticeship programmes are turning to apprenticeship training providers to upskill their workforce.
Lifetime has collaborated with the UK’s leading businesses across sectors to create seamless transitions between programme management. From upscaling provisions nationally to re-developing entire training programmes, we have the size, scale and expertise to help. Here we explain why switching to an external apprenticeship service provider could be a game-changer for your business.
What are the benefits of using an apprenticeship training provider?
The chance to upscale your provision
For any business based in multiple locations, making sure learning is consistent across teams can be a challenge. It's labour intensive, costly and time-consuming.
Using an external training provider with national reach means that you can expand your programme as your business grows, and still benefit from the same high-quality standard of training across your business, at every site.
At Lifetime we provide national coverage, with dedicated teams across every devolved nation. This means consistency on a national scale for all your teams – and room to upscale as your business grows.
Since choosing Lifetime as its external provider in 2019, Whitbread’s entire apprenticeship programme has been reshaped. Our teams transferred Whitbread’s entire provision, moving over 700 learners across to Lifetime in just 45 days.
The programme went on to flourish, and continues to evolve to grow with its people. Whitbread has seen the impacts too. In 2020-21, its apprentices were twice as likely to be promoted, 97% of learners were engaged and 94% said their performance has improved as a result of their apprenticeship. Find out more about how we work with our partners to deliver apprenticeships that create impact for both business and people.
Optimal levy management
Your apprenticeship levy pot contains the funds needed to pay for apprenticeship training costs, such as your provider and End-point Assessment.
An external training provider can optimise your levy funds to unlock maximum value. An established provider will have experience managing and tracking levy funds, creating a structured training plan that optimises every penny you spend, so your unique business needs are met.
Find out how we work with our partners to create strategies that maximise their apprenticeship levy.
A better screening process
Selecting the right applicants for an apprenticeship early on is critical to high completion and success rates. Doing this in-house is not only labour-intensive. It’s often a challenge to reach all employees that might be interested in a role, upskill management on the value of apprenticeships or offer the breadth of programmes that open up opportunities for all employees.
This is where an established training provider can add real value, across your business. With teams working to attract, pre-screen and shortlist the best talent for you, you’ll recruit people with the motivations, abilities and personalities that fit into your business.
And with the help of a reputable training provider, you could benefit directly from their advanced apprenticeship recruitment expertise – and your vacancies will have maximum reach. They'll build criteria based on your requirements, taking the long and lengthy screening process off your hands to select the ideal candidates for your roles.
We work with our partners to recruit and retain the best. It’s why the Financial Ombudsman Service teamed up with Lifetime, with a clear objective to shift to an entirely new recruitment strategy in just three months during the pandemic.
We pivoted from a face-to-face, workshop-based approach, to leveraging the power of digital recruitment. And in doing so, we rapidly accelerated its internal processes for hiring talent, generating over a thousand high-quality candidates in just two weeks.
Supporting business skills development
A value-added apprenticeship not only equips learners with job-based skills, but also unlocks personal and commercial skills training. It means learners can deploy their skills effectively within the working environment, from day one of their apprenticeship.
At Lifetime, we’re service-sector experts in a range of industries, with the infrastructure to deliver industry-leading training across different teams. Like the broad sectors we work in, we never stand still. We deliver training that helps your teams thrive, creates measurable impact and transforms business.
Choosing Lifetime as your apprenticeship training provider
Lifetime delivers training and apprenticeship solutions that unlock bright futures for people and businesses. We’ve been doing it since 1995, and have grown to become one of the largest providers in the UK.
With our size, well-established infrastructure and multi-sector expertise, we deliver industry-leading apprentice training – and do it consistently, on a national scale.
It's why our partners choose us. And it’s how we help them create a competitive skills advantage that accelerates their business growth. Our strategic, forward-thinking approach to upskilling means we adapt to meet business needs, from initial planning through to programme delivery.
Apprenticeship recruitment
Our future-focussed approach to apprenticeship recruitment means we don’t just recruit for a defined spec. We hand-pick talent that will grow with your organisation over time. Our teams do the heavy lifting, so you can focus on other business priorities.
Bespoke marketing
Our specialist Design and Marketing Team create client-branded guides and project resources that reflect your brand and support your programme launch. It’s just one way we make sure your programme is aligned to your business, from the very start.
Quality of curriculum
We have a team of over thirty curriculum experts, dedicated to writing and developing programmes for our partners. Because our curriculum teams are both sector and curriculum experts, they can collaborate with our partners to create programmes that work best for them, to support their specific business needs.
By continuously monitoring updates in the sector, we’re also able to quickly adapt our provisions to react to industry changes and updates. It’s why our programmes are industry-leading, and it’s how we make them work hard for our partners.
Your programme, our expertise
We act as a natural extension of your team, embedding your company culture and values to deliver consistent, high-quality training for your teams, across every site. Our Coaches are experts in their field, trained to unlock your workforce potential.
Learner transfer specialists
We’ve facilitated learner transfers since 2013, from individual learners to large scale projects, working with some of the UK’s biggest employers. Having transferred over 3,500 learners across numerous sectors, it’s a process we know well – and we understand the complexities employers face. It’s why we work hard to make the transfer as seamless as possible, for our partners and their people.
