One of things that really sets us apart from other coworking spaces is our alliance with Big Creative Education (BCE), London’s largest creative college.
If you’ve visited the Wetlands via the Blackhorse Lane entrance, you’ve probably walked past the college’s Uplands House campus. It’s home to over 300 learners specialising in gaming, animation, media, music, performing arts and events.
The college also recently opened a new campus on Clifton Avenue, situated around the corner from our friends at Armstrong Audio. With £21m investment from the Department for Education, it contains state-of-the-art facilities for a range of creative disciplines.
BCE also offers its learners the chance to kickstart their careers through apprenticeship placements, which is where Creative Works comes in.
What’s the deal with apprenticeships at Creative Works?
All Creative Works members – including self-employed individuals and limited companies – have the opportunity to hire a BCE apprentice. If you do decide to take someone on you’ll get a desk space for them in Creative Works free of charge.
Our apprenticeship incentive has to be one of our most exciting. It provides members with the opportunity to onboard new talent and grow their business in an affordable way, and enables ambitious learners to get a foot in the door of their chosen career.
Some of BCE/Creative Works’ apprentices appeared in the Waltham Forest Echo in 2019. You can read the full article here.
I’m interested! How do I sign up?
If you’re interested in hiring an apprentice or want to learn more, have a chat with Elena, Creative Works’ Community Manager. Once you’ve registered your interest, Elena will introduce you to Michael Roberts, BCE’s Employer Engagement Lead.
Mike will explain the ins and outs of the apprenticeship scheme, including how much you’ll pay versus how much the Government covers. He’ll have a more in-depth conversation with you about your business and what you want to get out of the experience.
If you decide to go ahead, the search for an apprentice will begin. BCE will post the opportunity on its website and social media, and the team will start looking at CVs.
Once a suitable candidate has been identified, Mike and the team will be there to guide you through the contract details and everything that needs to be done on your part, including helping you set up your company on the National Apprenticeship site.
The BCE apprenticeship team will support both you and the learner throughout the placement, which lasts 15 months. Once the 15 months is up you can choose to onboard your apprentice as a fully fledged employee – it’s completely up to you.
Of course, you might find yourself in a situation where you aren’t able to work with the learner for the duration of their apprenticeship. If this happens BCE will do their best to find the candidate a new placement.
Check out BCE’s new Clifton Campus:
Embed: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0RPJU-ajOnM
What makes a good apprentice employer?
“We’d always love for the employer to keep their learner for at least 12 months, because that’s the amount of time and training they need in order to be able to progress to their End Point Assessment,” explains Saskia Summerhill, BCE’s Apprenticeship Operations Lead.
“A young learner can always bring something amazing to a company in the form of new ideas.”
Although the apprenticeship lasts 15 months, learners don’t necessarily need to be in the workplace for the final three months in order to get ready for their EPA. So, if you really can’t keep them on after 12 months, they can always prepare for their assessment at home.
All apprentices take part in training with a specialist BCE teacher two days per month. Training is an important part of the apprenticeship programme for the learner, so you’ll be expected to allow them to attend every session.
Training usually happens in Creative Works’ training room on floor two, but sessions are currently being delivered online due to the pandemic.
Apprentices also have to complete coursework. Ideally, they’ll work on this on their training days so they can focus and their days working at your business aren’t disrupted.
Saskia emphasises that apprenticeships are there to enable young people to earn while they learn. As well as being the young person’s employer, you’ll also act as their mentor.
That doesn’t mean you have to watch over them every second, but “it’s important they feel like they’re being taught, and both the employer and apprentice need to be mindful that this is a learning experience.”
After all, no one likes to be in the position where they don’t feel like they’re progressing because they’re not learning anything new.
A life-changing experience
Apprenticeships have the power to transform both candidate and employer. “We want the employer to feel like they’re gaining something too,” explains Saskia. “A young learner can always bring something amazing to a company in the form of new ideas.”
There are candidates who are at the very beginning of their career, and those who already have some experience in the field but need that vital first foot in the door.
“It can really impact someone’s life and we’ve even had employers who’ve built their whole company off the back of the apprenticeship scheme. Some apprentices stay on and become managers, and one of our alumni is doing great things at ITV right now.”
Saskia says the scheme welcomes a range of employers and apprentices, and adds that there’s room for different characters and creatives.
There are candidates who are at the very beginning of their career, and those who already have some experience in the field but need that vital first foot in the door – someone to give them a chance to showcase their talent.
This tends to be where employers who don’t necessarily have the infrastructure to teach somebody all the tricks of the trade some in because they can give the candidate a little more leeway. BCE’s job is to understand the needs and capabilities of apprentices and employers to find a suitable match.
Grants for apprentice employers
The UK Government has increased the incentive payments for employers who hire a new apprentice between 1 April 2021 and 30 September 2021.
Employers who hire between these dates will receive £3,000 for new apprentices of any age. This is in addition to the £1,000 employers already receive for hiring an apprentice:
- aged 16 to 18 years old
- under 25 with an education, health and care plan or who has been in the care of their local authority
The payment is different to apprenticeship levy funds, and you can spend it on anything to support your organisation’s costs (including towards your apprentice’s salary). The BCE team can talk you through how the funding works in your initial chat.
What’s next?
If you’re interested in giving an apprentice the opportunity to thrive in your business, pop over to Creative Works’ front desk or email [email protected].
