Hire an Apprentice Without the Admin Headache

You provide the job and the on-site support. We recruit, employ and look after the apprentice.

Guidance for Employers

Taking on an apprentice is one of the most effective ways to build skills in your organisation, but the paperwork can put people off. There is a job to advertise, candidates to interview, an apprenticeship standard and training provider to choose, contracts and an apprenticeship agreement to issue, payroll to set up, pay rates to update every April, and progress reviews to keep on top of for a year or more.

As an Apprenticeship Training Agency, Encompass Select takes that work off your hands. You provide the job, the workplace and a supervisor. We recruit the apprentice, employ them and look after the administration from the first advert to the final assessment.

What we take off your plate

Workforce planning

We help you identify where an apprentice would add most value and match the role to the right apprenticeship standard and level.

Recruitment and selection

We write and place the advert, sift applications, shortlist and set up interviews, and can observe interviews to support a fair process.

Employment and contracts

We are the apprentice’s legal employer, issuing the contract of employment and handling the apprenticeship agreement with the training provider.

Payroll

We take responsibility for PAYE, National Insurance and payroll administration, including keeping pay in line with the minimum wage as rates and ages change.

Training providers

We help you choose an approved training provider for the qualification you need, and we can procure specialist provision where required.

Account management and welfare

A dedicated account manager visits regularly, reviews progress with the apprentice and their manager, and handles pastoral care, safeguarding and any HR issues.

Employer and apprentice reviewing work together at a meeting table

What you stay responsible for

An apprenticeship only works if the job is real, so some things stay with you as the host employer:

a genuine role with work that lets the apprentice build the skills in their apprenticeship standard;
a named supervisor who can guide them day to day;
a safe workplace and a proper induction to your site; and
time within paid hours for off-the-job training and progress reviews.

Everything else, from contracts to payroll queries, comes to us. We support employers across the UK, and if your organisation is based near our home on the Humber, our page on apprenticeships in Hull & East Yorkshire explains our local service.

How it works

Talk to us. We discuss the role, your timescales and how many apprentices you need.
Agree the details. Together we confirm the apprenticeship standard, the training provider, the pay rate and our management fee before anything starts.
Recruit. We run the recruitment campaign and you choose, or approve, the successful candidate.
Start. The apprentice joins our payroll and starts work at your premises, with their training plan in place.
Review and complete. We stay in touch through regular reviews until the apprentice finishes their end-point assessment, and talk to you about what comes next.

Apprenticeships in England last at least eight months, and many run for 12 to 24 months or longer depending on the level. Our guide to what an Apprenticeship Training Agency is explains the model in more detail.

What it costs

You pay us the apprentice’s wages and employment costs, plus a management fee. We do not charge a flat rate for every client. Instead, we agree the fee with you before engagement, based on the service you need.

Training is funded separately. For new starts from 1 August 2026, training for apprentices aged 16 to 24 is fully funded where the employer does not pay the levy or has used up its levy funds, and levy payers can use their funds or arrange transfers. Our Apprenticeship Levy guide explains the current rules, and we can offer a managed approach to your levy if you need one.

Wages must be at least the apprentice minimum wage of £8.00 an hour from 1 April 2026 for apprentices under 19 or in their first year, rising to £8.31 from April 2027. See our guide to apprenticeship pay in 2026 for every rate by age. Where incentive payments apply, such as the £1,000 payment for apprentices aged 16 to 18, we will explain how they are handled in your agreement.

Frequently asked questions

Is the apprentice my employee?

No. Under our ATA service the apprentice is employed by Encompass Select for the length of the programme. They work at your premises, under your supervision, as part of your team.

How much does it cost?

You cover the apprentice’s wages and employment costs plus our management fee, which we agree with you before we start. Training costs are funded separately through the levy or government co-investment, depending on your circumstances and the apprentice’s age.

Can we take the apprentice on permanently at the end?

Many host employers want to keep apprentices once they qualify. We agree how that would work with you at the start, so everyone knows the options before the apprenticeship finishes.

What happens if there is a problem with the apprentice?

Because we are the employer, we deal with HR matters such as absence, conduct and performance, working closely with you and the training provider. Your account manager is your single point of contact.

We pay the Apprenticeship Levy. Can we still use your service?

Yes. We work with levy-paying and non-levy employers, and we can advise on how your levy funds, any transfers and government co-investment fit with the apprenticeships you have planned.

Which roles can be filled by an apprentice?

Almost any role with a matching apprenticeship standard, from business administration, customer service, HR and finance to engineering, vehicle maintenance and digital roles. Our guidance for employers covers why organisations choose apprenticeships.

Ready to hire an apprentice?

Tell us about the role and we will explain how we would recruit, employ and support an apprentice for you, and what it would cost.

Speak to an Advisor