Apprenticeships have the power to recruit and train vital future talent, combating skills shortages and developing employees across core parts of your organisation – but they come with a cost in terms of both money and time.
But what if a scheme existed which removed much of the burden that comes with traditional apprenticeships? Reed’s new tech & digital academy has the power to do just that for tech and digital apprenticeships across England.
We have been approved as a Flexi-Job Apprenticeship Agency (FJAA) by the Department for Education (DfE) and have been listed on the Register of Flexi-Job Apprenticeship Agencies. This means that, funded by Reed’s apprenticeship levy, our academy can help your organisation benefit from tech and digital talent while we take care of the administration and funding related to the apprenticeship itself.
Our tech & digital academy offers a far more flexible solution in comparison to traditional apprenticeships, removing the sometimes overwhelming bureaucracy involved in running a scheme. It is also the perfect answer for those companies that have used up their apprenticeship levy allowance, or organisations who may not want to commit to employing apprentices directly.
The government’s Flexi-Job Apprenticeship Scheme was introduced in 2022 and championed as a way of ending the days when apprenticeships were restricted by a one-sized-fits-all approach. Of course, traditional apprenticeships remain incredibly important, but the FJAA scheme enables expert providers, such as Reed, to deliver a more flexible solution, helping to deliver the skilled workforce employers need, as well as creating exciting career opportunities for employees.
Flexi-job apprenticeships work by taking the pressure of managing the processes involved in a successful apprenticeship scheme, and the finances needed to fund it, away from you and puts it onto the shoulders of the providers, like us.
How do FJAAs work?
Flexi-job apprenticeship agencies recruit and employ apprentices and arrange placements with a variety of host businesses for the duration of an apprenticeship. They are designed to be more flexible than traditional apprenticeships, which tie apprentices into at least one year with one single organisation.
Approved agencies can also help employers with non-standard employment models make greater use of apprenticeships. Programmes offer the ability for apprentices to take on shorter-term placements across one or more organisations, providing access to greater experience across a range of projects.
Our tech & digital academy sees Reed recruit and employ apprentices directly, and source and manage best-in-class training providers to offer the apprenticeship training. We then place those apprentices into our client organisations for an agreed period, while providing wraparound support including health and wellbeing, pay and benefits and HR support.
What are the benefits of FJAAs?
Flexi-job apprenticeships have the potential to boost the UK’s workforce at a time when it is more important than ever to create a legacy of future skills.
Large-scale organisations, such as the NHS and BBC, have already taken advantage of the opportunity to set themselves up as FJAAs. For example, the BBC, through its Apprentice Hub, in Birmingham, has been able to work with a variety of production companies to offer short-term roles for apprentices.
FJAAs provide a great solution for organisations facing excessive bureaucracy or those which have exhausted their apprenticeship levy funds, with key benefits including:
Reduced bureaucracy: FJAAs handle much of the administrative burden, allowing organisations to focus on working with apprentices without getting bogged down by paperwork.
Filling skills gaps quickly: Flexi-job apprenticeships allow companies to fill skills gaps via apprentices who have gained experience in a variety of settings, something that can be particularly useful for shorter-term projects or when specific expertise is needed.
Flexibility: FJAAs offer apprenticeships which are far more flexible than previous schemes in terms of placement duration and the ability to rotate apprentices through different organisations. This helps create a more versatile workforce capable of adapting to your future needs.
Enhanced talent pools: FJAA’s offer access to a wider talent pool, giving them the opportunity to identify future permanent hires who have already proven their capabilities in different environments.
Reed’s tech & digital academy supplies an alternative pathway for those looking to source tech and digital talent. It offers these organisations the opportunity to use our apprenticeship levy to build skills, reduce the administrative burden apprenticeships can bring, access apprenticeships on shorter-term contracts, close skills gaps within tech and digital teams, and hire apprentices at no extra cost at the end of their programme.
It also means apprentices can gain diverse experience across a range of organisations and projects, improve their own employability and career prospects, receive Reed pay and benefits from day one of their apprenticeships, and access our industry-leading support.
In short, FJAAs provide a flexible and risk-free solution which has the ability to address skills shortages and meet workforce needs, while offering new talent a foot in the door, teaching them vital training in a variety of scenarios, and offering them the chance to build a diverse skill set.
Reed’s tech & digital academy, with training funded by Reed’s apprenticeship levy, offers organisations the chance to benefit from our tech and digital talent, while we take care of the apprenticeship programme. Find out more.
