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Policy and guidance - Graduate Apprenticeships

Award activation

Every year, we award funding to learning providers for Graduate Apprenticeships. Here’s what you need to do to prepare for your award activation.

Award activation

Funding Information and Processing System (FIPS)

FIPS is where you manage and claim payments for Foundation, Modern and Graduate Apprenticeships.

We've got a range of handy guides which can steer you through the process.

Find help and log in

Compliance

The activation of your Graduate Apprenticeship contract is an exciting time. First, your Development and Delivery Executive (DDE) will pay you a visit.

They’ll talk you through the programme requirements and answer any questions.

Make sure you complete the necessary paperwork

You should be familiar with how we keep track of contract compliance. Read our Reporting and Compliance Guidance for more details.

You’ll then need to register all your Graduate Apprentices and upload the supporting evidence via FIPS.

Claim your payments

It’s important to provide milestone evidence during the training delivery. You upload these to FIPS and can find help with this in the Reporting and Compliance Guidance.

You should complete the Progress Report. Once you’ve done this and shown that you're fulfilling the contract – you claim your milestone payments.

Employability Fund

The Employability Fund supports young people towards employment. This is achieved through local training programmes - including Graduate Apprenticeships.

We can help you use the Fund to deliver great Graduate Apprenticeship training in your area.

Learn about the Employability Fund

Preparing for an apprentice

Remember to work with your employers and add any vacancies you have on Apprenticeships.scot. Before posting, read our inclusive recruitment guides. These are full of handy tips on how to attract a diverse range of applicants.

1

Get ready

Before your apprentice starts, you need to make sure you have everything in place.

First, you'll have to set them up with an awarding body. Their qualification will include the SQA Group Award, apprenticeship certificate and the awarding body units.

Together, these make up the Graduate Apprenticeship qualification.

2

Welcome your new apprentice

The big day is finally here – and we’re on hand to help.

Our short welcome guide can help ease first day nerves for new apprentices. You could write to them before they start and give them some useful information. The company dress policy, what to expect on their first day and who will meet with them are all good things you can tell your apprentice to settle their nerves.

The guide tells you even more about what to do on their first day to help ease them in.

3

Provide funding and support information

Ask your apprentice to fill out an Equality Monitoring Form. Keep the signed statement for audits and upload it to FIPS.

Ask your apprentice if they need any further support, funding or equipment to do their training. If they do, they can apply for support with Access to Work funds through Jobcentre Plus.

We have a short guide about helping new apprentices. It gives more information about additional support and funding available.

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