Thinking about hiring an apprentice or up-skilling someone already on your team? Great news – the government has made things a whole lot easier with its Apprenticeship Service Digital Account, now open to all employers, big or small.

This handy online portal is designed to simplify everything from accessing funding to reserving government incentives. And guess what? If you’re working with Shoots Training, we’ll guide you through the entire process (and even handle a few steps for you!).

Let’s break it down, step-by-step.

Why Set Up a Digital Account?

If you’re planning to offer an apprenticeship, the first step is setting up your Apprenticeship Service Digital Account. This is where you will:

• Access funding to cover apprenticeship training costs (up to 95% for non-levy payers!)
• Receive any eligible incentive payments
• Manage your apprentices and training provider permissions

Sound like a lot?

Don’t worry – Shoots Training can send you a direct link to the setup page and guide you through it.

How to Set It Up (With Our Help!)

Once you receive our link, follow the instructions on screen and fill in your business details. During setup, you’ll have the option to give Shoots permission to act on your behalf.

This can:

• Speed up the process
• Let us make adjustments and add learners
• Reduce the admin on your end

We’ll always notify you of any changes we make – you stay in control, but we handle the nitty-gritty.

Once your account is confirmed, we’ll automatically be linked as your training provider.

Click here to watch a tutorial if you get stuck – How to set up an Apprenticeship Service Account – The Apprenticeship & Skills Partnership

Managing Learners on Your Account

Whenever you take on a new apprentice – or want to enrol an existing team member – you’ll need to add them to your Digital Account.

You can do this yourself, or we can do it for you. All you need to do is log in and confirm their details. This confirmation:

• Triggers the 95% government funding
• Officially starts the apprenticeship journey

And if an apprentice takes a break in learning? No problem. We’ll guide you through how to pause their training in the account.

Reserving Your Funding: Don’t Miss Out!

If you’re a non-levy paying employer, the government funds 95% of the apprenticeship cost. But before you can claim it, you’ll need to reserve the funding in advance.

Why? It helps the government plan their spending – and ensures your funding is secured.

With Shoots Training, once you have decided you want to start a new apprenticeship, we can help you reserve the necessary funding. All you do is confirm to us what apprenticeships you are interested in and we can reserve the funds for you.

Promoting Your Apprenticeship Vacancy

Want your role to appear on the official ‘Find An Apprenticeship website’? You will just need to give us permission to post your vacancy via your Digital Account.

We’ll do the rest – giving your vacancy maximum visibility to eager applicants.

Claiming Incentive Payments

While we can’t submit this for you, we’ll make sure everything is in place.

Once your apprentices are added, just:

1. Log in to your Digital Account
2. Click “Apply for the hire an new apprentice payment”
3. Select the eligible apprentices
4. Enter your business bank details

And you’re done! Your incentive payment will be processed directly to your account.