National Apprenticeship Week – 8-12 February 2021

Published: 08 Feb 2021

Young woman working on laptop

Apprenticeships aren’t just for young people starting their careers. At Aviva, our apprenticeship schemes suit people from all walks of life – school leavers, colleagues reinventing their careers or those looking to deepen existing skills.

Aviva currently has 252 apprentices, and in total has funded 542 apprentices aged 17-69 across its UK business since the UK Government introduced the Apprenticeship Levy in 2017.

The theme for this year’s National Apprenticeship Week is ‘Build the Future’ and celebrates how apprenticeships help employers and people of all ages and backgrounds build their careers.

Aviva’s business requires a diverse range of skills. We currently use 41 apprenticeship standards, which show the work an apprentice will do and the skills they’ll need. These focus on core insurance skills such as underwriting and actuarial, and developing new skills such as digital and analytics. 

"Apprenticeships are a great way to learn both for people carving out their very first career or for those looking to equip themselves with new skills."

Sophie Gray, Apprenticeships Lead at Aviva, said: “We’re passionate about our people and want them to be able to learn in the way that best supports them in their career, whatever point in life that may be.  Apprenticeships are a great way to learn both for people carving out their very first career or for those looking to equip themselves with new skills or a new challenge at Aviva.

“The ability to learn while you earn is highly motivating for ambitious people and we’re really proud that many of our apprentices have continued their learning with a second apprenticeship with some securing promotion as a result.”

"Our apprentices get a proper salary and are involved with real projects pretty much from day one."

Danny Harmer, Aviva’s Chief People Officer, said: “At Aviva, we work together to think 'what would make things easier for our customers?'. Our apprentices get a proper salary and are involved with real projects pretty much from day one.”

-ENDS-

Media Enquiries

Joe Booth

Financial Communications

Heleana Greeves

Group Financial and Corporate Communications

Notes to editors:

  • We are the UK's leading diversified insurer and we operate in the UK, Ireland and Canada. We also have international investments in India and China.
  • We help our 19.5 million (as at 30 June 2024) customers make the most out of life, plan for the future, and have the confidence that if things go wrong we’ll be there to put it right.
  • We have been taking care of people for more than 325 years, in line with our purpose of being ‘with you today, for a better tomorrow’. In 2023, we paid £25.6 billion in claims and benefits to our customers.
  • In 2021, we announced our ambition to become Net Zero by 2040, the first major insurance company in the world to do so. We are aiming to have Net Zero carbon emissions from Aviva’s operations and supply chain by 2030. While we are working towards our sustainability ambitions, we recognise that while we have control over Aviva’s operations and influence on our supply chain, when it comes to decarbonising the economy in which we operate and invest, Aviva is one part of a far larger global ecosystem. There are also limits to our ability to influence other organisations and governments. Nevertheless, we remain focused on the task and are committed to playing our part in the collective effort to enable the global transition. Find out more about our climate goals at www.aviva.com/climate-goals and our sustainability ambition and action at www.aviva.com/sustainability
  • Aviva is a Living Wage, Living Pension and Living Hours employer and provides market-leading benefits for our people, including flexible working, paid carers leave and equal parental leave. Find out more at https://www.aviva.com/about-us/our-people/
  • As at 30 June 2024, total Group assets under management at Aviva Group were £398 billion and our estimated Solvency II shareholder capital surplus was £8.2 billion. Our shares are listed on the London Stock Exchange and we are a member of the FTSE 100 index.
  • For more details on what we do, our business and how we help our customers, visit www.aviva.com/about-us
  • The Aviva newsroom at www.aviva.com/newsroom includes links to our spokespeople images, podcasts, research reports and our news release archive. Sign up to get the latest news from Aviva by email.
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