Are you one of the thousands of UK manufacturers grappling with a skills shortage?

Every organisation needs a pipeline of talent, whether it's to replace retiring workers, to keep the business growing or to help you expand into new areas.

And the unfortunate truth is that the recruitment market often can’t deliver the experienced workers you need at a salary you can afford.

Whether you're bringing in someone new or developing someone already in your business, there's a route to get the skills you need.

An engineering apprenticeship could be a solution for you, and it’s often more affordable and more manageable than you might think.

Worker using a drill press to drill a piece of metal.

Why take on an apprentice?

What an apprentice delivers for your business, what it costs and why manufacturers keep returning for more. 

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How it works for you

Everything you need to know about the process from start to finish, and how Make UK can help.

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Helping you recruit

Remove the pain of finding the right apprentice with recruitment services that can advertise and assess candidates. 

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Hear from other employers

Hear from an employer who’s taken on our apprentices and how it helped their business.

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Funding and costs

Find out how little an apprentice could cost you, and how much the levy might cover. 

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The right option for you

Choose from apprenticeship pathways that work for those starting in engineering or tailored programmes for upskilling existing employees. 

 

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Our apprenticeship programmes

Taking on someone new to engineering? See all our standard apprenticeship programmes at a glance and pick any that interest you. Each page covers what a qualified apprentice can do in your business, how long it takes, the qualification they’ll finish with and what it costs.

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Business contribution

Apprentices contribute to your business from the start, and after four years you have a fully qualified engineer who already knows your organisation inside out.

Funding avaliable

All employers of a certain size pay something called the Growth and Skills Levy, which goes towards paying to train apprentices.

For levy-paying employers, this means that training costs are largely covered by the funds you’re paying. And for SMEs, the government funds 95% of training costs. Either way, Make UK works out what makes sense for your business before you commit. 

Experienced provider

We’re proud to say that we currently support more than 1,000 apprentices, with over 320 new starters every year. 

Make UK is trusted to train engineers by JLR, Rolls-Royce, Severn Trent and hundreds of manufacturing and engineering SMEs across the UK.

Manufacturing experts

As the national body for UK manufacturing, we don’t just deliver training, we hear directly from manufacturers what they need from their apprentices.  

Apprentices learn on the job in your workplace and receive training at our unique Technology Hub in Aston, which teaches every skill you could need under one roof. 

See it for yourself

Our Technology Hub in Aston is where we create the engineers of the future. Apprentices learn manufacturing disciplines from robotics to welding and electrical to CAD.

Come and see the facility, meet the tutors and understand what your apprentice’s training looks like. It takes half a day and it answers every question.

Most employers who visit come away ready to take the next step.  

Arrange a visit now. 

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Talk to us

Interested in taking on an apprentice but still have questions?

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