Even over 1,000 creative apprenticeships in, this continues to be among the most myth-ridden entry routes into the creative and cultural industries. We’ve already tackled ten common myths, but what better time to face down some more than during National Apprenticeships Week 2012?

1. I can’t take on an apprentice because I haven’t got a job to offer them at the end of it.

The main requirement of an apprenticeship is that the apprentice stays with you for as long as it takes them to complete the qualifications in their framework. At the end of that, it’s up to you.

Obviously, it’s ideal if the employer can progress the apprentice on, either to the next level up, or to a job. But this isn’t always possible – and that’s fine. The most important thing is that the apprentice has a meaningful experience in the time they are with you, which includes the opportunity to work, develop skills, achieve a qualification and do a bit of networking. If you can offer them a job in addition to all that, great, but it’s a bonus.

2. The health and safety risks of having an apprentice in the workplace are too big, especially in live music and technical theatre.

The law does not discriminate on age, so your health and safety obligations are the same for your apprentice as for any employee.

Legally, you are required to undertake workplace assessments to identify risks and respond accordingly. But the law does not expect you to remove all risks, so long as you are controlling them appropriately.  If you are habitually working with complicated or dangerous machinery, then untrained people – like apprentices – using this equipment would be an obvious risk. But you hired your apprentice in order to train them, so as long as you take appropriate safety precautions in training (which you should be doing anyway), you shouldn’t have a problem.

3. There will be complicated insurance requirements around allowing apprentices around expensive equipment. I’m too busy to deal with those! 

If you already have Employers’ Liability Insurance (which is required by law), you’ve got everything you need. Just check the policy and see if it will cover an additional member of staff. As with health and safety, the law does not discriminate, but you may have to bear in mind any existing insurance requirements specific to your industry.

4. I risk getting sued if there’s an accident while an apprentice is using my machinery.

As with all health and safety issues in the workplace, the law is the same for the apprentice as for any other employee. If there is an accident for which you had failed to take adequate precautions, you will be covered for any legal fees by the terms of your Employers’ Liability Insurance. The fact of the apprentice being a young person doesn’t come into it!

5. Training the apprentice will use up lots of staff time.

All new staff need time spent with them for the induction and introduction to the organisation and their new job role. But there’s no evidence to suggest that apprentices need any more time than any new employee.

What we do know is that apprentices take the position because they really want it – and that this apprenticeship is more than ‘just’ a job for them. So they’re usually enthusiastic and dedicated. You’ve already taken the important step of investing in training for your organisation – why not do it properly?

6. The college model doesn’t work for me.

We’ve known for some time that the traditional model of apprenticeship delivery (weekly day release at college) isn’t necessarily going to work for our industry.

We are working hard with our Founder College network to ensure that they are as flexible as possible around the delivery models that they can offer – most of them are now offering other models, including distance learning and block delivery, to combat issues like this. 

7. I’ll have to spend ages training existing staff around their obligations.

The only extra obligation for apprentices is that they be given a certain amount of time out of the workplace to train and be assessed for their qualification. Apart from this, the time commitment would be exactly the same as for any other new member of staff.

8. There’s no quality assurance.

The National Apprenticeship Service recently issued a statement about the measures currently in place to guarantee the quality of apprenticeships; there has been some suggestion that certain providers are ‘churning’ people out as quickly as possible in order to get the funding.

We guarantee, with our Founder Colleges, that the apprentice’s provision will be of a high standard, and that they will be worked with to enable them to complete their apprenticeship properly. Contact our Apprenticeship Training Service for more information.

9. We only employ freelancers, so we don’t have a payroll service set up to allow us to employ apprentices...

No problem! Our Apprenticeship Training Service can employ an apprentice on your behalf. Not only does this solve payroll problems, it also gives you added financial security.

National Apprenticeships Week runs from 6 – 10 February 2012.

More information about apprenticeships:

Ten Myths about Creative Apprenticeships
Top Twelve Apprenticeship Facts
All About our ATS