Employers
Gower College Swansea is one of Wales’ leading apprenticeship providers, offering a wide range of award-winning apprenticeship programmes in both Wales and England.
We work with a wide-range of employers in a variety of different industries, offering training solutions to help recruit or upskill existing team members. We work with employers to tailor development programmes to meet your requirements, which can include a mixture of work-based, classroom and remote learning to meet the needs and demands of your organisation.
As an employer, by working with Gower College Swansea you can expect award-winning support for learners, recruitment support, bespoke delivery tailored to your needs, regular reporting on College activities, support in developing new training solutions, as well as funding or levy guidance to ensure maximum value for money and time, as well as return on investment.
If you are looking to learn more about the employer support available, please contact our Employer Engagement team on training@gcs.ac.uk or 01792 284400.
Development routes
We offer more than 82 different apprenticeship routes, ranging from Level 2 to degree level apprenticeships. Routes available include traditional apprenticeships such as Carpentry and Electrical, to newer routes such as Leadership and Management, Health and Social Care, Digital and much more!
Employer benefits
By working with Gower College Swansea, employers will benefit from:
- Increased employee productivity
- Improved staff morale and performance
- Greater in-house company skill set
- Access to funding routes and grants
- Reduced training and recruitment costs
- The ability to fill skill gaps through recruiting new talent or upskilling existing staff
Why employ an apprentice?
Employing an apprentice can benefit your organisation in a number of ways, including:
- Generating a motivated, skilled and fully qualified workforce in-house
- Training and development can be adapted to suit the needs and demands of your organisation
- Apprentices are highly motivated to develop the skills, knowledge and behaviours employers want
- It’s a cost-effective method of generating talent
Employer stories
We work with a wide-range of employers, both big and small, in a variety of different industries and sectors.
Hear what some of our employer partners have to say!
Click the button in the top right of the video to view more.
Award winning
Gower College Swansea is a finalist in the Widening Participation category of the 2023/24 Association of Colleges ‘Beacon Awards’. This is a result of the College’s highly successful ‘Apprenticeships for All’ initiative and its impact in significantly increasing the recruitment numbers and achievement rates of apprentices with a disability, additional learning need, physical or mental health condition.
In 2022/23, Gower College Swansea won a Beacon Award for Internationalisation as a result of the broad range of initiatives to develop our learners, employers, staff and communities.
The College previously won two UK Annual Apprenticeship Conference (AAC) Awards 2022:
- SEND Champion of the Year (Provider) 2022
- Health and Care Apprenticeship Provider of the Year 2022
In 2022, Rachel Jones, Gower College Swansea’s Director of Work Based Learning, won an Institute of Directors (‘IoD’) Wales Award in the Skills category.
The College won the 2021 UK Times Educational Supplement (TES) FE Award for Apprenticeship Programme of the Year.
We were also crowned winners in two categories in the UK Annual AAC Awards in 2021.
- Engineering and Manufacturing Apprenticeship Provider of the Year 2021
- Digital Apprenticeship Provider of the Year 2021
Prior to this, we previously won two categories in the UK AAC Awards in 2019.
- Health and Science Apprenticeship Provider of the Year 2019
- Outstanding Contribution to the Development of Apprenticeships, Steve Williams 2019
Who do we work with?
The College work with a wide-range of employer partners in a number of different fields, here’s some of the organisations we work with:
Common FAQ’s
Apprenticeships are an opportunity for learners to gain access to real-world training, earn whilst they learn, and gain a recognised qualification. Apprenticeships can be accessed by people of all ages, and can be used to upskill existing team members or recruit new talent into an organisation.
Apprenticeship durations vary depending on the level selected, but most take between 12-24 months to complete.
An apprenticeship will have no cost to an employer, Gower College Swansea can draw funding from Welsh Government to cover any delivery or training costs. Employers however will be expected to pay the wage or salary.
The individual must be employed for more than 16 hours per week and living in Wales to qualify for apprenticeship funding. Apprentices must be paid at least the minimum apprenticeship wage, which is £5.28 per hour, but employers can set the salary.
Most of our apprenticeships can begin at any point of the year, allowing the team member to begin at a point convenient for both learner and employer, however some will start in September to coincide with College day release. Please speak to our team for more information via training@gcs.ac.uk or 01792 284400.
Apprenticeships can benefit an organisation in a number of ways, including reducing recruitment costs, improving retention rates and staff satisfaction, filling potential skill shortages, growing new talent in-house, diversifying your team and much more!
Apprenticeship delivery will vary depending on the pathway being undertaken, however most apprenticeship programmes can be delivered in accordance with the needs of the learner and employer. Delivery can involve classroom-based workshops, remote through Teams or Zoom, or a hybrid approach.
Absolutely! Upon the successful completion of an apprenticeship, learners can progress to the next available apprenticeship level or another relevant pathway, or undertake a shorter qualification.
We understand the importance of finding the right apprentice for your organisation, and our team are here to help. We can discuss your needs including the overall aims and objectives of the organisation, approaches to promoting the vacancy, candidates who might be of interest, upcoming events and much more. Contact us today to start the process via training@gcs.ac.uk or 01792 284400.
If an apprentice goes on long term sick or maternity/paternity leave whilst on the apprenticeship programme, the College can pause the programme and continue once the apprentice returns to the workplace.