Apprenticeships Wales – Fully Funded by the Welsh Government

An apprenticeship training provider is a work-based learning commercial company, college or university, that delivers apprenticeships to your employees.

The apprenticeship training provider is the first point of contact for your employee progress, funding, coursework and assessments. It is responsible for delivering the course and ensuring apprentice success

The training provider will allocate you a training advisor. Your advisor will guide and coach your employee through the coursework portfolio and assessments.

Authorised by the Welsh Government, approved apprenticeship training providers have proven high standards. Like schools, work-based learning providers are inspected and audited, so they have a proven track record and recommendations to make continuous improvements.

Some approved providers partner up, uniting to form an association or, in our case, a consortium. TSW Training Apprenticeships is part of the B-wbl consortium. Led by Pembrokeshire College, it’s an association of training partners from all over Wales.

Apprenticeships in Wales are vocational, so they can be applied in any sector where there’s a relevant role. If you have a vacancy to fill (whether you’re based in South or North Wales), it could be an opportunity to introduce an apprentice to your business.

• Public sector
• Private sector
• Third sector

These are the funded apprenticeships offered by the Welsh Government:

• Advanced Manufacture & Materials
• Agriculture and Environment
• Automotive, Transport and Logistics
• Business and Management
• Catering and Hospitality
• Childcare Services
• Construction and Building Services
• Creative & Design
• Digital Technology
• Education and Information Services
• Energy
• Engineering
• Food and Drink
• Hair and Beauty
• Healthcare Services
• Health & Social Care Services
• Legal and Financial Services
• Life Sciences
• Property Services
• Protective Services
• Public Services
• Retail
• Travel, Tourism and Leisure

This varies across the occupational routes and levels of the qualifications. The variation ensures that everyone has the appropriate amount of time allowed to complete their apprenticeship. This ensures that it can be completed without undue pressure, but also without unnecessarily dragging it out for the more able or experienced apprentices.

Overall, apprenticeships vary from 15 months to 4 years depending on the occupation and level. Our Account Managers will discuss durations with you at the planning stage to ensure that everything is suitable for the individual being recruited.

Unlimited, there are no restrictions on the number of apprentices that an employer can train/recruit in Wales.

No. Apprenticeships are an all-age funding programme.

No. Apprenticeship Levy funding cannot be used to fund apprenticeships in Wales. However, with Welsh Government funding not limiting apprenticeship places for your organisation, you can save the Levy funds for use elsewhere.

You can start your apprenticeship programme at any time subject to funding availability. Apprenticeship funding is generally in very high demand so there can be minor delays at peak periods.

Our Account Managers will fully discuss the commitments to the programme, any time required off-the-job, typical volumes and standard of work to be completed and any questions you may have about the journey.

This will help you plan to start the apprenticeship at the best time for both the employer and the individual, ensuring the best preparation and induction can be provided.

Yes, discussions and planning with our Account Managers is at no obligation and it makes no sense to employ an apprentice at a time that is unsuitable for your organisation. We will work with you to plan your funding enrolment at a time that best suits you.

No. There is no obligation to employ the apprentice at the end of their apprenticeship programme.

Our Account Managers will discuss issues such as the likelihood of long-term employment for the apprentice at the outset. This will help you decide whether a time restricted Apprenticeship Agreement is more suitable than a permanent contract of employment. We can provide professional advice on the content of an apprenticeship agreement as part of our service, no extra cost.

Yes, this is called a transfer. If you are unhappy with the service you receive from an apprenticeship provider then you can transfer your apprentices to TSW.

Once you have made the decision to change provider, our Employer Engagement Team and Support Teams will manage this process on your behalf.

Your apprenticeship is supported by a wide range of TSW staff, these include:

• Employer Engagement Team. Every organisation is allocated a named Account Manager from within this team to be the main point of contact for you as an employer, they are your go-to person. They carry out monitoring of satisfaction, make sure that the service you expect is being provided, meet with your staff and apprentices to gather feedback and make recommendations for continuous improvement of our processes. They will advise and support on your recruitment and selection process and will also advise on the next steps when individuals complete their apprenticeship.
• Your Training Advisor, this is the primary support person for your apprentice, who works with you in the workplace and feeds back on progress made by your apprentice/s.
• Internal Quality Assurer (IQA), this is the person who double checks that your apprentice’s work is meeting the national standards expected of apprentices.
• TSW Quality Team, who ensure that your apprenticeship meets the highest standards, train our Training Advisors and IQA’s, develop resources and materials, monitor feedback and satisfaction rates and handle any complaints or concerns that may arise along the way.
• Support Team, based at TSW, ensure your funding is managed properly and all your qualifications are registered and managed correctly.

This depends on the specific apprenticeship that your apprentice is following. Generally, the answer is no but, some apprenticeships will have formal tests or controlled tasks that ensure your apprentice is gaining the knowledge required to gain competence in their role. These are not decided by TSW, they are externally set, like GCSEs, and applied nationally across all apprentices on that specific type of apprenticeship.

Your Training Advisor will typically meet with your apprentice, on a monthly one to one basis. This will involve support, advice, guidance, teaching, assessment, and progress reviewing as is appropriate for your apprentice at that time. You will always receive feedback following the session and you will usually be asked to provide a formal comment on each apprentice’s progress.

Training Advisors are available on phone, email and MS Teams between the visits to provide on-going support and the majority of apprentices are supported via an e-portfolio system where they can submit work, have it assessed and receive feedback between workplace visits.

The quality of our services is of primary importance and is monitored using a broad range of sources and activities:

• The feedback gathering mentioned in the previous question
• Achievement statistics
• Quality Assurance strategies
• Observations of Training Advisors and IQA’s performing their roles
• Feedback visits with learners and employers
• Surveys with learners and employers
• Independent monitoring from Welsh Government
• Compliance Auditing (internal and external)
• Quality Auditing (internal and external)
• Peer observations performed by other apprenticeship providers within our consortium
• Formal inspection from His Majesty’s Inspectors, Estyn
• Welsh Government performance monitoring

The data and feedback gathered from these sources is evaluated by our Quality Director and formal development plans agreed. If you ever want to discuss our service development plans, just ask your Account Manager who will be more than happy to discuss our plans and get your feedback.

TSW delivers apprenticeships throughout Wales.

Our delivery is focussed across the breadth of South Wales, including apprenticeships in Cardiff, Swansea, Newport and everywhere in between.