Why hire an apprentice?

By hiring an apprentice, not only are you ensuring that you are developing the industry's workforce but you also get:

Increased loyalty: When you invest time and money training apprentices, they feel motivated, valued and grateful to join a skilled team. This increases the chance they’ll remain with the business for longer, helping reduce your staff turnover. 65% of apprentices stay working for the company that trained them when they complete their apprenticeship*.

Skill swapping: While you teach the apprentice the practical skills they need, the apprentice will bring back the most up-to-date methods and information gained from their training course.

They’re enthusiastic: Apprentices are generally keen to get stuck in, prove themselves and learn as much as possible, bringing fresh enthusiasm to the business. 74% of employers say that apprentices improved products or service quality, and 78% say that they improved productivity*.

Develop your workforce: Employing an apprentice allows you to develop your own workforce by training new staff and matching the skills of employees to the skills you need. 69% of employers say that employing apprentices improved staff retention*.

*According to research from the Centre for Economics and Business Research, ‘The Benefits of Apprenticeships to Business’ (2015)

What is required of an employer?

Once you have found an eligible apprentice, please contact us and request a New Start Application Pack which can be emailed to you.

When the application pack has been fully completed by you and your apprentice, return it to SNIPEF Training Services.

You’ll receive an acknowledgement email once the application pack has been processed. Your local Regional Training Officer will then arrange the apprentice's induction to the programme.

College places can be limited so applications must be sent to SNIPEF Training Services as early as possible to ensure your apprentice is guaranteed a place. Most colleges start around August and September so all paperwork should be received by SNIPEF Training Services before the college year starts.

How to recruit an apprentice

Step one

You can find an apprentice plumber by contacting one of our Regional Training Officers to enquire if they know of any individuals looking to start an apprenticeship or who are looking for an employer in order to complete their apprenticeship. You can contact one of our Training Services Team who may be able to send over to you some details and/or CVs of individuals who have expressed an interest in becoming apprentice plumbers. You can also look for an apprentice online or print adverts or by asking people you know.

Step two

When you have found an apprentice plumber, contact us to request a New Start Application Pack which will be emailed to you. Once you receive the application pack, complete the relevant sections which includes the SNIJIB training agreement and BPEC test for apprentices to take.

Step three

Send the forms and information back to us. We will send you an acknowledgement email once received. The forms will be passed on to one of our Regional Training Officers who will arrange the apprentice's induction to the training programme.