Apprenticeships aren’t only a way to bring new people into a business. They can also provide a valuable pathway for developing existing members of staff, helping them gain recognised qualifications, take on greater responsibility and progress within an organisation.
For one school working with Future Training, that was exactly the goal.
Developing an experienced member of the team
The school already had an experienced Early Years Teaching Assistant who had been part of the team for several years and was making a significant contribution.
Rather than recruiting someone new, they wanted to invest in her continued development while also meeting the changing needs of the school.
As the employer explained:
“We wanted to qualify one of our experienced Early Years TAs for her development and for the needs of the school.”
By supporting an existing employee through an Early Years apprenticeship, the school could build on the knowledge and experience she already had while giving her the opportunity to achieve a relevant qualification.
Supporting the needs of the Early Years team
The decision wasn’t only about individual progression. Developing the Teaching Assistant’s skills and qualifications also had the potential to provide practical benefits across the Early Years provision.
The school wanted additional support with ratios in Early Years, greater flexibility within the classroom and continued improvements to the quality of interventions and individual child development.
Once qualified, there is also the potential for the Teaching Assistant to occasionally take greater responsibility for the class.
This makes the apprenticeship an investment in both the employee and the wider school team.
Choosing Future Training
Having never used the apprenticeship route before, finding an appropriate training provider was an important part of the process.
The school found Future Training through the Department for Education’s list of organisations offering the relevant Early Years qualification.
For an employer navigating apprenticeships for the first time, having support throughout the process made a difference.
“We have not used the apprentice route before and Future Training were incredibly supportive and helpful.”
The employer described their overall onboarding experience as “excellent”, with the Future Training team helping them understand the process and get the apprenticeship underway.
Building on an already valuable role
This apprenticeship journey is slightly different from the traditional story of a new apprentice arriving in the workplace.
The Teaching Assistant had already worked at the school for many years and was an established member of the team before beginning her programme in December 2025.
She therefore wasn’t starting from scratch. Instead, the apprenticeship is helping her build on the experience she already has.
The school said she has settled into the programme “very well” and already makes a significant contribution to the organisation.
Looking ahead, gaining the qualification should create opportunities for that contribution to grow further.
“Once qualified, she will be able to contribute more and we will be able to give her greater responsibility and greater pay.”
That progression is one of the key benefits of using apprenticeships to develop existing employees: new skills and qualifications can translate into increased responsibility and clearer opportunities for career progression.
A longer-term investment
As the programme only began in December 2025, the school is realistic that it is still too early to measure its full impact.
For now, the focus is on supporting the Teaching Assistant to complete the requirements of her course successfully.
The employer explained:
“At the moment we are supporting her to fulfil the course requirements, so it’s hard to see an impact yet, but I am sure we will.”
That longer-term perspective is important. Apprenticeships are not simply about filling an immediate gap; they can be used strategically to develop the people who already understand an organisation, its children and its way of working.
Could an apprenticeship help develop someone already in your team?
If you have an employee with the potential to progress but who would benefit from further training and qualifications, an apprenticeship could provide the pathway.
Future Training works with employers to support apprentices and existing employees through training that develops practical skills alongside their day-to-day roles.
For this school, the journey started with a simple aim: invest in an experienced Teaching Assistant and give her the qualifications to take the next step.
And as her apprenticeship progresses, the benefits have the potential to extend beyond her own development to the children, colleagues and wider Early Years provision around her.
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