RSA pledges £750K to help SMEs fund apprenticeships

Authored by RSA

RSA Insurance has announced that it is pledging over £750K to fund external apprenticeships, helping 40 small and medium-sized businesses create 146 apprenticeship opportunities throughout 2022. The insurer’s pledge seeks to support the government’s agenda to level up pay, employment and productivity in the UK.

The funding from RSA will help launch 146 apprenticeships for 40 businesses across 12 sectors including Agriculture, Business Administration, Care Services, Charity, Construction, Creative and Design, Digital, Education, Hair and Beauty, Health and Science, Legal and Finance, and Sales, Marketing and Procurement.

RSA will be supporting businesses that are finding it a challenge to fund vital learning programmes to train, upskill and retain existing talent, or struggling to hire new talent to close employment gaps for key sectors identified by the government’s levelling up plan including Care Services, where 64 apprenticeships will be funded via RSA’s pledge.  Large employers with an annual tax bill of more than £3 million are required to pay the Apprenticeship Levy and they can choose to transfer 25% of their Levy funds each year to non-levy paying businesses to fund their apprenticeship training.

Clare Connor, Professional Development Consultant at RSA said:

“We are pleased to announce our pledge to support the development of apprenticeship programmes in vital roles and sectors. Apprenticeship opportunities must be celebrated as they build, shape and transform careers and lives for the better. We’re excited to support and facilitate so many businesses to provide fantastic opportunities and share the success and benefits we’re experiencing through our apprenticeship programme.  We know Apprentices will make a huge impact and play a crucial role in developing and creating talent pipelines.

“Apprenticeships are now so inclusive and available to everyone whether it’s school leavers venturing into the world of work for the first time, or mature professionals looking to upskill.  At RSA, we’ve made it our mission to myth-bust and remove the stigma around apprenticeships, while creating a welcoming and supporting environment for our employees to thrive in.”

Since the introduction of its first insurance apprenticeship programme in 2018, RSA currently operates 58 programmes across the business, with 276 apprentices holding down a variety of jobs.  The business is committed to building solid career paths for their apprentices and has been named as one of the Top 100 apprenticeship employers in the 2020 ranking by the National Apprenticeship Service.

RSA seeks to provide and nurture an inclusive environment for all employees and has made its apprenticeship programmes available to everyone. In line with this commitment, the average age of a person on an RSA apprenticeship is 33.

As part of its Bright Futures Early Careers programme, the insurance provider will launch a formal graduate programme in 2022, enabling graduates to join a degree or master’s level apprenticeship, fully funding further professional qualifications. In addition to benefits such as annual volunteering days and emotional fitness and well-being sessions, graduates will be provided with a competitive salary, allocated business mentors and talent coaches, and bespoke learning and development sessions. RSA are recruiting a minimum of 70 College and University leavers this summer.