Apprenticeships Wales – Fully Funded by the Welsh Government

Future proof your business with fully funded apprenticeships in Wales

What is an Apprenticeship in Wales?

An apprenticeship in wales refers to on-the-job skills training funded by the Welsh Government and delivered by apprenticeship providers like TSW. 

The apprenticeship is a blend of skills qualifications including profession-specific qualifications and those covering essential skills such as literacy and numeracy.

👉 Apprentices can be entry level, or senior specialists, working in a wide range of sectors. Apprenticeships in Wales cater to all levels. 👈

The apprenticeships we provide are a vehicle to inspire and nurture fresh talent and direct and influence the career path of higher-level workers. Contact us to find out more and start your apprenticeship journey.

Our Apprenticeships

Apprenticeship course content is designed to stretch and challenge your people. Regardless of the sector or profession, apprenticeships create opportunities for people with potential. 

You can discover the rising stars in your ranks, create pioneers and champions at every level.

We provide fully-funded apprenticeships throughout Wales, which are available in the following routes:

👇 Our Full Range of Welsh Apprenticeships 👇

Apprenticeship RouteFoundation Apprenticeship Level 2Apprenticeship Level 3Higher Apprenticeship Level 4Higher Apprenticeship Level 5More Info
Business AdministrationFind Out More
Advice and GuidanceFind Out More
ChildcareFind Out More
Customer Service
EngineeringFind Out More
Health and Social Care (Adults)Find Out More
Health and Social Care (Children and Young People)Find Out More
ManagementFind Out More
Manufacturing
PlayworkFind Out More
Support for Teaching and Learning in Schools
Team LeadingFind Out More
Warehousing

Click To Find Out More About Any Of Our Apprenticeship Routes

Engineering

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Health and Social Care

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Leadership and Management

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Manufacturing

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Business Admin

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Information, Advice and Guidance

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What’s Involved in an Apprenticeship?

Every apprenticeship programme provided by TSW Training is different and specific to your industry and the job role. Alongside the vocational work is a basic skills element, for example, there are modules that tackle literacy, numeracy and digital abilities. The course contents of an apprenticeship are designed specifically to develop industry understanding and the roles within it.

There are core modules and hand-picked optional modules which tailor the qualification. By engaging in the detail of the qualification, you’re building a skilled and qualified workforce.

Read more: 

You’re responsible for providing and planning your apprentice’s training schedule. It can be delivered in Welsh or English, catering for a bilingual workforce. In every sector and every framework, the apprenticeship is tailor made and specific to your business.

For the apprentice, it’s a blend of qualifications that prove their ability to handle the real demands of a job. None of it is theoretical – they’ve seen most situations first-hand and know exactly how to deal with them.

Apprentices in Wales train in the real world, linked up with industry workers and expert training advisors, who coach them through the qualification.

Who Can Sign Up for an Apprenticeship in Wales?

Apprenticeships aren’t exclusively for young people planning their futures. You can recruit a new apprentice, or enrol any of your existing team onto a relevant apprenticeship.

Organisations of any size are welcome and eligible for the work-based learning programmes. However, there is some eligibility criteria.

  • Your apprentices must be 16 and over to apply and 18 to apply for higher-level apprenticeships.
  • You must plan to pay them minimum wage and at least 16 hours of work per week.
  • Apprentices must work 51% or more of their time in Wales and Apprentices must follow the welsh apprenticeship framework.

Every apprenticeship programme has a different eligibility criteria for the apprentice, but we’ll help you to understand the parameters laid out by the Welsh Government.

Find out more about how our apprenticeships work on our blog.

Bring a career path to life with TSW Apprenticeships

At the heart of an apprenticeship is real-world learning; the first-hand experience that brings a flat job description to life. Apprentices see the job from the inside out and get to know the job from your perspective, incorporating your processes, practices and values into their everyday working.

Apprentices strengthen your workforce from the ground up and can be transformative for your organisation, but the benefits extend to the apprentice too.

The apprentice gets to jump, feet first, into a career they care about. They’ll shadow roles they aspire to and get paid to do it. They live and breathe an experience that will stay with them, shaping  their professional decision-making and career path long term. Even better, they’ll feel loyalty to the brand which allowed them to be the best they can be.

Apprenticeships in Welsh

“At TSW we are committed to maintaining the Welsh language through our communication and services,” says our Head of Quality, Sarah Elston.

“Wherever possible we aim to communicate with our learners and employers through their preferred language, whether Welsh or English.

“We take time to understand your language preferences and will seek to provide services to the same standard whether you choose to communicate with us in Welsh or English.”

All learners undertaking Apprenticeship programmes with TSW are given the opportunity to undertake their learning in Welsh either in full or part. Additionally, learners are supported to recognise Welsh as an employability skills and are given opportunities to develop their use of the Welsh language.

❓ Apprenticeships Wales - Frequently Asked Questions ❓

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. 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.

Our Custom Approach to Apprenticeships

We appreciate that every employer is different and our support service is designed to be as flexible as possible to meet your individual needs and preferences.

Whether your are an organisation or an individual our mission is to make apprenticships work for you.

With over 55 years’ experience supporting the industry with apprenticeships you couldn’t be in better hands. TSW Training is one of the leading apprenticeship providers in Wales.

"Our Training Advisors work with employers and learners to work out the best way to deliver the apprenticeship. The best thing about it is that employers benefit from a training programme that’s tailored to their needs, without having to pay out large sums of money.

It means that everybody is able to access training, no matter how big their training budget.”
Sarah Elston
Quality Director, TSW Training

What You Get From TSW Apprenticeships

Apprenticeship consultation

When you enquire, we’ll visit you to discuss your needs, the apprenticeship process, and introduce you to our service. We’ll help you build a learning roadmap to enhance your business performance via further education. We’ll supply supporting literature, so you can digest the detail and set expectations within your organisation.

Recruitment support

We can help you to identify the people within your organisation who would benefit from the qualifications. It’s a completely free apprenticeship consultation, so you can take a look at the opportunities, shortlist the candidates and learn about the work-based apprenticeship programme offered by the Welsh Government. 

Awareness session

This is the springboard for the apprenticeship where we set expectations with your candidates. Their Training Advisor works with them to lay out the educational roadmap ahead, learn how they’ll be measured, and what support they’ll receive from their assessors, you and the business. It’s a great opportunity to ask questions and set expectations about the time and energy demanded by the qualifications.

Health and safety appraisal

We’ll visit your place of work and conduct a health and safety appraisal document. It’s a mandatory exercise to prove your organisation is a safe environment for Welsh Government apprentices. We conduct and manage the paperwork entirely, so all you need to do is show us around. Once complete, it’s valid for four years, so you can easily take on more apprentices, or bring other qualifications into your organisation.

On-call assessors 

Learning doesn’t just happen during business hours; that’s why our assessors are on hand 24/7 via email, text and WhatsApp to support your candidates.

Employer Engagement Visits

Feedback and evaluation help us to see how successfully the learning is transferring into your organisation, so we can work with you to measure the returns. 

That’s why we book a six-month Employer Engagement Visit health check with you and your apprentice.

We walk the candidate through a quick survey, where we discuss their learning experience so far and the quality of the programme. The questions are standardised, so we can collate and compare data between organisations to apply real adjustments.

Then we review with you to see if the programme is meeting your expectations, whether you can engage with the apprentices and their work, and if you’ve noticed the candidate demonstrating knowledge and competence. 

We’re on hand to support you with any queries as the apprenticeship progresses.

Get In Touch...

At TSW we are passionate about helping people and organisations meet their full potential.

Make an enquiry and one of our dedicated Learning Advisors will contact you to listen to your needs and help you find the right solutions.

Your Learning Advisor will support you by:

  • Listening to you carefully, to understand your needs and any problems you are trying to solve
  • Asking you questions to help us determine the right solution for you
  • Providing advice, information, and pricing according to your requirements
  • Identifying when one of our in-house experts needs to speak with you, to provide more specialist advice

Rest assured that you will not be contacted by a pushy salesperson.

We are here to provide you with tailored information and direct you to the best solution, even if that is not with TSW!