Apprenticeships are growing in popularity and becoming one of the best routes into work for young people. By combining classroom training with work based experience, they provide a learning platform more accessible than other options. Apprenticeships cover a wide variety of industry and level and benefit both the apprentice and the employer.
Sitting at a desk for a year or 2 isn’t always going to be the best way to deliver training and education, where as learning on the job and being able to practice what you learn is proving a far superior form of training. This added on to highly valuable work experience, apprentices are becoming assets for any and every company.
Here are the 10 reasons to hire an apprentice:
1) Access Government Funded Industry Recognized Training – Most apprenticeships are fully or part funded by the government and will include industry recognized qualifications. These may be qualifications you would have to personally pay for your staff to have, that could be funded through an apprenticeship.
2) Find Young Talented Employees – Apprenticeships are primarily provided for 16-18 year olds but there is flexibility in that. Most providers will provide a recruitment service that will include screening, CV review, interviewing and matching to your company needs.
3) Higher Rates Of Staff Retention – 80% of companies who employed an apprentice have reported a significant increase in employee retention. Apprentices will stay longer in a company than a graduate or a qualified member of staff.
4) Business Growth – Apprenticeships provide a very cost effective way for a business or team to grow. By hiring an apprentice you will get a new member of staff who is provided with great training and qualification, lower wage and possibly government incentives.
5) Increased Productivity – 76% of those employers who employ apprentices agree they make their workplace more productive. Having hungry new staff come in who are learning with their provider and then learning at work, not only do the apprentices work hard but they encourage other staff to work hard as well.
53% feeling that they reduce recruitment costs. Some providers will even provide a full recruitment service absolutely free!
7) Government And Local Incentives – The governments AGE grant currently offers £1500 for companies taking on an apprentice for the first time (terms and conditions apply), and some local councils offer extra incentives as well.
8) Great ROI (Return On Investment) – In terms of the return on investment linked to Apprenticeships, 41% say that their apprentices make a valuable contribution to the business during their training period, while a further third (33%) report that apprentices add value within their first few weeks (or even from Day One)!
9) Fresh Perspective – It can be very beneficial for a company to have someone new come in with a fresh perspective, from a different background, who may be able to help move the company forward. Whether it’s by being able to relate to a different generation, knowledge of new or popular services and products or just by finding new and different ways to do things.
10) Provide Life Changing Opportunities – We all have to start somewhere, and by employing an apprentice and supporting them through their training, you are providing a life changing opportunity for someone.
There are a lot of training providers out there offering a wide variety of courses, so there could be an apprenticeship out there that could benefit your business. If you think your business could benefit from an apprentice please do get in touch and I will be happy to direct you. Let’s share this message though and help create more opportunities for apprentices and help businesses grow.
Comment:-
David Goodall – with over 6,500 apprenticeships created on the Island since 2010 many would agree with this article …