Our apprenticeship courses are designed to develop skilled, confident professionals in the Fire and Security industry. We’ve supported thousands of apprentices from enrolment through to qualification and beyond. Whether you’re looking to grow your team or invest in future talent, explore our range of courses to find the right fit for your business.
Employers' Guide
The Employers’ Guide will walk you through every step of the journey – from exploring your workforce development options to implementing tailored training solutions and supporting long-term employee growth.
Why choose Skills for Security?
We are the UK’s leading Fire & Security training provider with a continually expanding network of training centres, making training accessible to learners and employers. We provide an end to end training service, ensuring we can fully support your business, irrespective of your training requirements.
Our service offering
From developing new talent to upskilling experienced professionals, our flexible, expert-led training helps individuals and businesses stay compliant, confident, and future-ready.
We offer a complementary, fully managed recruitment service designed to help you find the perfect apprentice for your business needs.
From promoting the opportunity and screening applicants, to arranging interviews and supporting you with onboarding, we handle every step of the recruitment process – at no extra cost to you.
Let us take the hassle out of hiring, so you can focus on growing your team and your business.
We’re the UK’s leading Fire and Security training provider, trusted by hundreds of employers nationwide. Our expert team delivers high-quality, industry-relevant training, ensuring your apprentices gain the skills, knowledge, and confidence to thrive in the sector.
With flexible delivery models, dedicated support, and strong employer partnerships, we make apprenticeships simple, effective, and tailored to your business.
We offer a wide range of commercial courses tailored to meet the needs of the Fire and Security industry. From upskilling your workforce to helping individuals gain specialist certifications, our training is designed with real-world application in mind.
Delivered by industry experts, our courses are flexible, practical, and aligned with the latest standards – giving your team the skills to succeed.
Our Skills On-Demand platform supports lifelong learning in the Fire and Security industry, offering flexible, unlimited access to high-quality training anytime, anywhere. Whether you’re refreshing core skills or exploring new areas, we make continuous development simple and accessible.
With bite-sized modules, expert-led content, and real-world relevance, it’s the smarter way to keep your knowledge sharp and your career moving forward.
How does an apprenticeship work?
An apprenticeship is a structured programme where individuals learn on the job while working towards a qualification. They gain hands-on experience with your business and attend regular training, either in person or online. Throughout the programme, our Learning Engagement Officers keep you updated on their progress.
Induction Process
To take on an apprentice with us, start by identifying the role you need and exploring our apprenticeship courses.
From there, we’ll guide you through funding, recruitment, and selecting the right course.
Once your apprentice is chosen, we’ll work with you to fulfil the relevant paperwork, contracts, and training schedule, making onboarding easy and supporting you every step of the way.
Funding
Apprenticeships are typically funded through the government, meaning the maximum an employer has to pay for their apprentices training is 5% of the allocated funding amount (which differs between apprenticeships), depending on the age of the apprentice(s). Employers are also required to provide their apprentice with all things a ‘regular’ employee would receive including statutory holiday and a lawful wage.
What commitment is required?
When hiring an apprentice, employers provide a contract, pay at least the apprentice minimum wage, and ensure a safe working environment. They also allow time for training, around 6 hours per week, and support learning through hands-on experience and regular feedback. A workplace mentor should guide the apprentice, and we work with you to track progress and prepare for assessments. While not required, many employers offer permanent roles after the apprenticeship, helping apprentices grow within the business.
Benefits of hiring an apprentice:
01. Funding
Hiring an apprentice is a cost-effective way to develop talent, as government funding is available to cover the majority, if not all, of the training costs. This means employers can invest in growing their workforce without the full financial burden typically associated with staff development, making apprenticeships a smart and affordable solution for building skills tailored to the needs of your business.
02. Enhance Your Culture
Apprenticeships can significantly enhance your company culture by bringing in fresh perspectives, enthusiasm, and a willingness to learn. Integrating apprentices into your team fosters a culture of continuous development, mentorship, and collaboration – helping to build a motivated, future-ready workforce that supports long-term business growth.
03. Staff Retention
Investing in apprenticeships can boost staff retention by showing employees that you’re committed to their growth and long-term success. Apprentices often feel a stronger sense of loyalty to companies that support their development, while existing staff benefit from opportunities to mentor and progress, creating a more engaged and stable workforce.
04. Diversity & Inclusion
Apprenticeships support diversity and inclusion by opening up accessible career pathways to people from a wide range of backgrounds. By removing traditional barriers to entry and focusing on skills development, apprenticeships help businesses build more inclusive teams that reflect the communities they serve – driving innovation, creativity, and broader perspectives across the workforce.
Benefits of hiring an apprentice:
01. Funding
02. Enhance Your Culture
03. Staff Retention
04. Diversity & Inclusion
Academy Programme
For cohorts of 8 or more apprentices, we offer a ‘closed cohort’ where we can tailor curriculum delivery to the needs of your organisation. This can include integration of elements such as your company culture, values, standards and any other unique requirements, such as specific codes of conduct and technical focus (e.g. specific products and/or solutions).
Frequently Asked Questions
We’ll guide you through the entire onboarding process and explain everything that’s required. We offer support via phone, email, Teams or in-person visits.
There’s no limit. Previously, non-levy employers were capped at 10 apprentices, but that rule no longer applies.
Yes. Once onboarding is complete and the sign-up call is done, we can provide the Apprenticeship Agreement. You’ll then be able to book the ECS assessment and apply for the card once it’s passed.
There are no direct costs if a learner withdraws early - funding stops at the point of withdrawal. We’re happy to explain how this works based on your funding type (Levy/Non-Levy).
Apprentices should be given the opportunity to apply new skills in a real work environment through a productive job role. They should receive paid time for off-the-job training, averaging a minimum of six hours per week, along with support from a dedicated workplace mentor or supervisor. Time should be allocated for assessments and reviews to track progress. The learning environment should designed to be safe and inclusive, with encouragement and regular feedback provided to help apprentices grow both personally and professionally.
You’ll support and reinforce the curriculum being delivered by us - we’ll provide guidance on how to back up their learning in the workplace.
We’ll help with this too. We use our Retention Roadmap to monitor engagement and provide tailored support to both you and the apprentice.
They’ll train using industry-standard tools and systems to ensure they’re confident and capable when applying their skills at work. We work with over 25+ industry brands who all provide us with their equipment for our learners to get hands on with, as well as the curriculum standard equipment.