Are you looking to add capacity to your QA, test and dev teams with a Software Tester apprentice? Our experience shows that testing is an excellent place for junior talent to start their tech career and allows apprentices to add real value at a very early stage in their apprenticeship.
By hiring an apprentice, you’re shaping the next generation of digital talent to solve your specific business needs and encourage a culture of learning and development within your organisation.
Our passion is helping you nurture digital talent. We want to help junior software testers build the careers they desire and find a sense of belonging through their apprenticeship. So however big their ambitions are, they’ll always remember where they started.
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What will my apprentice learn?
Our coaches will work with you to develop competent, professional software testers by coaching them through the ISTQB foundation level, including topics such as:
Are you looking to hire a new team member or do you have someone in mind? If you’ve already got someone on board, you may want to skip to the next section. Otherwise, keep reading.
Step 1: We work with you to recruit an apprentice. We’ll advertise your vacancy, conduct the initial screening and telephone interviews and set work-related challenges at no extra cost, before passing promising candidates to you for interview. Candidates range from school and college leavers to graduates to those with some work experience under their belt.
Step 2: You interview a selection of candidates and make the hiring decision. The apprentice is employed by you and works within your business. They spend 20% of their time (approx. 1 day per week) on off-the-job training, working towards their Level 4 qualification.
Step 3: Over 18 months, we coach your apprentice through their exams and coursework and help them apply their new knowledge and skills in the workplace. This coaching can be delivered at one of our training venues, online or at your premises.
Step 4: As your apprentice develops their skills, they start adding huge value to your team and bring a fresh perspective to business challenges.
Step 5: Your apprentice undertakes End Point Assessment and successfully completes their apprenticeship.
How much does it cost?
If your business has an annual payroll bill of more than £3m you will already be paying the apprenticeship levy. This money can be used to fund apprenticeship training and any money not spent reverts to the government.
Once your levy fund has been spent, or if you have a PAYE bill of less than £3m, the government pays 95% of the apprenticeship cost and you pay the remaining 5%. For the Software Tester standard this means the maximum you will be asked to pay is £900 per apprentice towards the cost of their training.
The biggest cost to hiring an apprentice is their salary. Although minimum wage for apprentices is £4.15 per hour, we’d recommend a salary of £12,000 to £18,000 per annum for a Software Tester to attract the right people to your role.
You can also take advantage of a £1,000 incentive payment from the government if your apprentice is aged 16-18 or 19-24 with an Education, Health and Care (EHC) plan.
On top of this, the government has introduced Covid response incentives, valid for starts until 31st January 2021. This entitles you to an additional £2,000 when you employ an apprentice aged 16-24 or £1,500 if the apprentice is over 25.
It was very clear to me how Digital Native differentiate - they are flexible. They work with their clients to build a programme that fits.Cat Halstead, Head of Academy, Crimson
As Digital Innovators we needed apprentices with a passion for technology. Digital Native found the right apprentices for us and have become a valued business partner.Jon Swinbourne, Operations Director, B13 Technology
After running an apprenticeship program for a few years now we have finally struck gold with Digital Native and the way they do things.Matt Burrowes, Senior Technical Consultant, Triaster Ltd
