Minimum wage and apprentices.

[Jules001]

If a business is willing to take on a young person as an apprentice and pay them the apprentice minimum wage hourly rate of £2.90 knowing that the person had already completed the relevant C & G training course which is recognised by the business, so in effect would not be training, but just getting experience, is it a) in any way against the Minimum wage scheme rules or guidelines and/or b) just a way of getting cheap labour.
Would you advise the young person to accept a position like this or is it a case of take what you can get as all experience is worthwhile. We are talking here of a 1 year apprenticeship.

Sorry to be so vague, but don't want to jeopardise anything by the 'wrong person/people' reading this

[sandyRoe]

Having that one years experience under their belt would be a great help when looking for other jobs.
I don't know if paying the apprentice rate goes against the minimum wage scheme.

[albaqwerty]

I always thought the minimum wage was age relevant, irrespective of apprenticeships.

[ubasses]

£2.60 is the minimum wage for an apprentice for the 1st year, so looks like they are paying 30p above that. They probably think that having C&G is not as good as on the job training. It would probably be beneficial to accept it as there may be a full time job at the end of the apprenticeship and if not will enhance CV when applying elsewhere.

[Jules001]

sorry I made a typo with the minimum wage it is £2.60 they would be offering. It is a small business and the person whose business it is, completed the same C & G training as the young person in question. There is no guarantee of a job at the end of it, but the young person could use the experience gained to set up on their own, so may/may not need the experience to enhance their CV, but obviously it will all help. The young person with this C & G qualification could in theory set up on their own straight away without the need for the apprenticeship, but just wanted to consider other options such as the relative safety net of working for an already established business albeit with a low salary in order to gain more hands on experience or just to dive straight in at the deep end with their own business.

[Maydup]

I think an apprenticeship is a fantastic opportunity for a young person and an ideal transition from college to work. I agree that the trainee might have the relevant qualifications but with no experience in the real world, the employer will still need to nurture them and support them through the first year so in my mind and that of the authorities, they are entitled to pay a trainees rate of £2.60 minimum.

Apprenticeships are a very traditional grounding and stepping stone for young people that worked well in my father's days and are asrant today.

[Maydup]

^ are as relevant today as they were then.

[Buenchico]

To qualify as an apprenticeship there MUST be training involved, both in relation to the job itself and in relation to the employee's rights and responsibilities.

If the C&G qualification, which is already held, is at 'Level 2' then either an Advanced Level Apprenticeship (leading to a 'Level 3' competence qualification) or a Higher Level Apprenticeship (leading to a 'Level 4' competence qualification) would need to be offered within a properly-structured a contract of apprenticeship. You can't simply pay someone at below the usual MNW and call them an apprentice:
http://www.apprentice...org.uk/Employers.aspx

Chris

[boxtops]

I was going to comment in similar vein to Chris. The employers I work with are able to take on external Apprentices on a training contract (usually a year) so that they can complete their Apprenticeship and an NVQ in an agreed topic with that employer. Under that scheme, the training is free to the employer (Government funded) but the employer undertakes to pay the apprentice a minimum of £95 per week. I don't know how that equates to an hourly rate.

[Buenchico]

In England (only), the '£95 per week', referred to by Boxtops, has now been replaced by a minimum hourly rate of £2.60

[boxtops]

Thanks Chris, I'm a bit behind on the detail!

[Jules001]

thanks for all the replies, I will tell the young person that if they are offered the apprenticeship to make sure that there is a contract of apprenticeship before accepting.