27/05/2025
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The BWF’s Woodworking Industry Training Forum (WITForum) has produced new guidance for employers looking to take on apprentices in joinery industry.
The guidance was produced after calls from the membership about the various different options available to them and the continuously change rules and funding regimes.
The guidance was provided to delegates at the BWF’s Members’ Day/Annual Conference in Loughborough last week (24th May) and is now available on the website.
The BWF’s Marketing & Training Manager, Dave Campbell, said, “The system is very complicated, and even if employers understand one element, they may be missing out on other options which may work better for their business when taking on new people in apprenticeship and trainee roles”.
With the woodworking industry sitting between the construction and manufacturing industries there are a number of different routes that employers can take when looking to employ an apprentice and the best option may not the ‘traditional’ route.
Most apprentices work through a qualification on day-release at a local college completing a wood occupations (bench joinery) apprenticeship, but other options exist such as in-house apprenticeship training and furniture woodworking qualifications which often suit more manufacturing-based company’s activity. These other routes attract the same funding from government and from the CITB-ConstructionSkills levy/grant scheme.
In some cases, it may suit the business and the individual not to do an apprenticeship at all, and complete an NVQ only through an On-Site
Assessment and Training (OSAT) programme. For example, the BWF’s OSAT programme offers a bespoke and tailored training package delivered on the company’s premises and brings the individual through to qualification at the appropriate level. The added benefit of this method of learning is that it can be completed in a timeframe that suits the pace of the learner and the business’ ability to accommodate training around workload. Furthermore, there are grants available for older learners as well as 16-18 year olds.
Funding is crucial issue when it comes to taking on apprentices, particularly in the tough economic climate the industry finds itself in. Funding can be sourced from central government, devolved administrations, local authority initiatives and from CITB-ConstructionSkills.
While this guidance focuses on employers in England at present, specific guidance for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland will be available shortly.
Updates will also be made in the coming months to accommodate the expected increases in grants from CITB-ConstructionSkills. More detailed web pages will also be available in June.
The guidance is part of a wider WITForum initiative to qualify the workforce in the joinery industry, which is being supported with funding by CITB-ConstructionSkills. In addition to employer guidance, the WITForum will be launching guidance and a social media campaign aimed at potential entrants, getting them into the joinery industry.
