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  3. Our Apprenticeship Programmes

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  2. Information for Employers
  3. Our Apprenticeship Programmes

Our Apprenticeship Programmes

Get ahead of competitors and find talented individuals with a passion for tech.

Looking to employ great talent?

We help businesses recruit talented tech apprentices from diverse backgrounds through our high-achieving sixth form and extensive outreach. We equip apprentices with industry informed skillsets to hit the ground running. We support partners like PwC and HSBC by designing recruitment, advertising roles, and providing ongoing support.

Partner with us to develop future-proof tech teams and invest in tomorrow’s digital leaders.

Completion and retention

87%

of apprenticeships are successfully completed

90%

of apprentices graduate with salaries at or above the national average.

70%

of apprentices remain with their employers for at least 5 years

A curriculum that fills your skills gap

9 out of 10 employers find apprenticeships beneficial. Ada’s adaptable curriculum, co-developed with leaders like Deloitte and IBM, ensures work-ready apprentices. We offer Level 4 and 6 digital pathways tailored to your business needs, strengthening your team with diverse, ambitious talent.

Substantial return on your investment

Apprenticeships offer a strong return on investment, with apprentices twice as likely to stay than graduates. For Levy-paying businesses, Ada’s training costs are fully covered.
Non-Levy payers can also access training through our Levy Transfer programme, utilising donated funds from generous partners.

Benefits

Ada apprenticeships deliver immediate business impact. Our programmes build the digital talent you need, reducing hiring costs, increasing retention and equipping your teams with skills that drive growth

Diversity and inclusion

64%

of students are from minoritised ethnicities

34%

of students are women or those of minority genders

51%

of students are from low-income families

Why choose an Ada apprentice?

Retention rates 10% higher than avg of top 30 competitors (6th highest) and 20% higher than industry averages

Can recruit directly from Ada’s Sixth form: the top UK Computer Science college 6 years running

Co-designed curriculum with industry partners

Dedicated TSC for every apprentice

End to end recruitment at no additional cost

Complimentary line manager training

View our apprenticeship case studies

Ada apprentices at ClearScore

Hear from the Ada apprentices and their employers at ClearScore about how they fit in, what they are learning and what they contribute to the teams and the wider organisation.

Ada apprentices at Bank of America

Read what our Ada Apprentices had to say about their experiences with Ada and BofA and why employers should take on Ada apprentices.

Some of our apprenticeship partners

Answering your concerns

These are common questions and concerns we’ve frequently received about the apprenticeship programme
We don’t have the capacity, time for recruitment/onboarding, or confidence managing early careers talent

Ada’s delivery model is designed to be low admin for employers.

We can handle recruitment at no additional charge, and can pass approved candidates on to a final stage assessment process. We also support with onboarding and induction so apprentices can hit the ground running and ongoing progress tracking with data sharing.

We also offer ‘full, complimentary line manager training’ (this doesn’t have to take up an entire day, just an hour or so).

Our skills coaches stay in close contact with both the apprentice and their manager to ensure it’s working smoothly. Most employers tell us their managers grow in confidence quickly, and often see wider benefits to team culture and retention.

Many partners also start small (1–2 apprentices) to see how easily it fits before scaling up.

This process is designed to be as light touch as possible for busy employers. 

We already have a training provider

That’s great, it shows you value apprenticeships. We’re not looking to replace, but to complement.

Ada specialises in digital and data apprenticeships with a strong emphasis on diversity and industry-readiness. Several of our partners (like PwC and HSBC) work with multiple providers, and use Ada to deploy top tier digital talent or strengthen inclusion in their programmes.

We could explore a pilot cohort or niche skill area your current provider may not cover as deeply.

We also have a retention and completion rate, 25% higher than many of our competitors.

We don’t have suitable roles for apprentices

Many employers think this at first , but once we review your teams, we usually find great fits in data, software, or tech-enabled entry roles. Some roles may need some blending or looking at closely to ensure they fully align with the apprenticeship standard, but it’s feasible for an IT Consultant pathway level 6 DTSP to sit on any IT team, so this will never really be true!

Our team can help map existing roles against apprenticeship standards and show where apprentices can add value, often supporting existing projects or freeing up senior staff time.
We could also run a short role scoping workshop to identify where apprentices could make the biggest impact.

We’ve had bad experiences with apprentices before and are worried they won’t meet our technical standards

That’s understandable. Quality does vary a lot across providers.

Ada was founded in partnership with industry specifically to raise the bar. We co-design our curriculum with employers, and every apprentice has a dedicated skills coach and support structure. We’d be happy to share feedback or case studies from companies who joined Ada after a disappointing experience elsewhere and saw a huge turnaround.

Ada’s selection process is also intentionally rigorous. We screen for aptitude, motivation, and potential, not just grades. We can also run our recruitment process with your teams input, so can find the candidates with the traits you’re looking for.

Our apprentices consistently achieve above industry average results, and many progress into permanent roles at leading firms.

We don’t have buy in from senior leaders

We know senior sponsorship is key, and we can provide case studies, ROI data and testimonials from senior leaders at other employer partners who have seen tangible business benefits.

If helpful, we can also join a call with the leadership team or prepare a tailored briefing pack to help you build the case internally.

We prefer to recruit grads and don’t want to take on someone with zero experience

Apprentices bring lower costs, fresh thinking and loyalty.

Apprenticeships let you ‘grow your own’ talent to your exact needs, and they help diversify your pipeline and strengthen your retention.

We can craft a recruitment process to ensure we get the right candidate, coupled with the programme being focused on real world problem solving, communication and technical fundamentals in the launchpad process before they even start work.

Apprentices also have a dedicated technical skills coach to help ensure consistent development and performance.

Employers often tell us apprentices outperform expectations within their first few months.

Apprenticeship Partnerships Team