5% Club

By joining ‘The 5% Club,’ members aspire to achieve 5% of their workforce in “earn and learn positions.” (including apprentices, sponsored students and graduates on formalised training schemes) within five years of joining.

To alleviate poverty by working with employers, policymakers and others to drive up the number, quality and range of earn & learn opportunities across the UK, benefitting businesses, individuals, the economy and society.

The 5% Club is a dynamic movement of employers committed to earn & learn as part of building and developing the workforce they need as part of a socially mobile, prosperous and cohesive nation. The Club exists to help its members and all employers increase further the number, quality and range of earn & learn opportunities across the UK.

Earn & Learn pathways of all types valued highly by employers, potential recruits, influencers and policymakers. “Earn & Learn” describes a group of routes into and within employment which combines study with practical experience, so enabling individuals to gain the knowledge and skills required to pursue their chosen occupation.

The 5% Club, Earn and Learn includes –

• Apprenticeships at all levels
• Formalised graduate training programmes
• Sponsored students

It does not include –

• Single instance/short-term training
• Internships
• Work experience (freestanding or related to qualifications).

Members sign The 5% Club charter.  As a member of The 5% Club employers state they are: Committed to helping the UK’s growth agenda and acknowledge the importance of developing people as both a business and social imperative. Playing their part in addressing youth unemployment and skills shortage.

Pledging to work towards having a minimum 5% of their UK workforce enrolled on a formalised apprentice, sponsored student and/or graduate development schemes within five years. Measuring and reporting on their progress annually against the above metric in their Corporate Social Responsibility section of the Annual Report and Accounts or equivalent document. Committed to encouraging other employers to participate in the campaign. 

Members sign The 5% Club charter. As a member of The 5% Club employers state they are: Committed to helping the UK’s growth agenda and acknowledge the importance of developing people as both a business and social imperative. Playing their part in addressing youth unemployment and skills shortage. Pledging to work towards having a minimum 5% of their UK workforce enrolled on a formalised apprentice, sponsored student and/or graduate development schemes within five years. Measuring and reporting on their progress annually against the above metric in their Corporate Social Responsibility section of the Annual Report and Accounts or equivalent document. Committed to encouraging other employers to participate in the campaign.

Membership of The 5% Club numbers more than 350 businesses from across a broad range of sectors as well as the size of the company, including large corporations as well as SMEs.

Leo Quinn founded The 5% Club in October 2013 to address the issue of poverty arising from high youth unemployment and a shortage of the right skills for the workplace of today and tomorrow.

To read more about ‘The 5% Club,’ you can visit their website.