What is a Traineeship?

A Traineeship is an education and training programme that prepares young people for employment, providing work experience that will help them to progress to an Apprenticeship or other sustainable jobs.

The “real world” workplace experience helps young people to develop the skills, knowledge, confidence, attitudes and behaviours they need to succeed at work. It is intended that our Traineeships will lead directly to full-time employment on an Apprenticeship.

 Who can do a Traineeship?

Traineeships are available for 16-24 year-olds to upskill or retrain for a new career. If the young person already has qualifications up to Level 3 (A Levels or BTEC), they can still undertake a Traineeship.

 What sort of qualifications can Trainees achieve?

Each Traineeship is different although the qualifications will typically be Level 1 or 2 Awards or Certificates, along with GCSE Maths and/or English if required. The programme will be devised to suit your business training needs, potentially including valuable training in areas like Food Hygiene, Induction and Health and Safety.

 What commitment does my business have to make?

Traineeships are designed to be “light touch” for businesses. The government wants to encourage young people to get back in to work and we will work with you each step of the way, to make sure that the individual fits your organisation. Your business commits to offer work experience to the young person and support their training for the duration of the Traineeship.

There’s no commitment to employ the trainee at the end of the programme, although our strong track record in this area means that we’re confident that the vast majority of the trainees will move to an Apprenticeship or further learning.

 Do I have to pay the Trainee?

There’s no requirement to pay wages because the programme is classed as full-time education. We do recommend that employers pay a bursary or training allowance, as well as covering expenses such as travel and lunch. HTP pays for all of the training costs.

 How can a Traineeship help my business?

A Traineeship is a genuine opportunity for you to recruit a keen young person with fresh ideas who wants to learn from you. We work with you to create a role that can help your business to fill training gaps. We’re supporting employers who are reshaping their businesses and their teams as they adapt to the impact of the pandemic. By taking on young people who are being funded to learn new skills, you can develop your team without taking a risk. In many ways a Traineeship is like a “long job interview”.

 What happens at the end of the Traineeship?

Traineeships are fast moving and designed to fast-track young people into an Apprenticeship or full-time job. Programmes typically last a few months, although they can vary between six weeks or up to a year.

When the Traineeship programme is completed, your young person will ideally continue their training with an Apprenticeship. We can continue to work with you to support the young person and your business, potentially delivering further training.