In accordance with authorities statistics whole UK apprenticeship participation is 740,000 for 2021/22, forming a sizeable chunk of the UK workforce.
Regardless of making a big contribution to the economic system, apprenticeships have had a stigma connected to them for a few years. Prevailing stereotypes nonetheless linger of the badly paid apprenticeship for the under-qualified and inferior to conventional degree-type {qualifications}.
In current months, nonetheless, a clamour for less expensive apprenticeships has precipitated the proportion of British faculty leavers selecting levels to fall for the primary time in a decade.
Some top-level diploma apprenticeships in high-paying sectors equivalent to engineering are actually among the most coveted programs within the nation, with corporations equivalent to Rolls Royce and Dyson receiving extra functions per place than Oxford or Cambridge.
Clearly, younger individuals are waking as much as the advantages: an earn-while-you-learn life-style and a safer profession path in distinction to the debt-laden diploma and unsure profession prospects.
Taking up apprentices additionally presents big enterprise alternatives, from diversifying their providers to plugging expertise gaps. We overview the advantages and provide why it’s best to take into account apprenticeship schemes in 2023.
Shut the Expertise Hole
In November 2022, 13.3% of companies surveyed by the ONS reported a scarcity of employees, whereas the federation of small companies discovered that 80% of small corporations confronted difficulties recruiting candidates with appropriate expertise. Apprenticeships will help to fill this void.
As a substitute of on the lookout for these scarce silver-bullet hires, companies also needs to look to recruit and upskill apprentices. 86% of employers, as an example, mentioned that apprenticeships helped them develop expertise related to their organisation. Unencumbered by unhealthy habits, apprenticeships can deliver recent vitality to a enterprise and be moulded to fulfill your organization’s necessities. That is very true when youthful individuals are so adaptable and know-how literate. Excessive-level apprenticeships might incorporate the event of an enormous vary of expertise referring to know-how, from structure to working with structural evaluation software program.
Apprenticeships Supply Worth for Cash
One of many apprenticeship’s most generally touted advantages is their appreciable cost-saying nature, with organisations with the ability to make use of presidency funding. Levy-paying employers can use the funds of their account to pay for apprenticeship coaching, whereas non-levy-paying employers can select to share apprenticeships with the federal government.
Analysis reveals that authorities covers 95% of coaching prices whereas youthful workers are usually less expensive of their wage parameters. Return on funding is critical, with some forecasters estimating that the common web profit for an apprentice throughout their coaching interval was £2,496.
Along with this, apprenticeships can even save on recruitment charges. In accordance with Glass Door, the common employer spends round £3000 and 27.5 days hiring a brand new worker.
Enhancing Workers Retention
Vibrant-eyed, high-energy apprentices coming into the office can ease the burden in your present workforce. Typically they’ll alleviate the stress of easy, time-consuming duties. What candidates lack in expertise, they might make up for in enthusiasm, helping with lower-level duties, rising capability and boosting morale.
Apprenticeships may additionally engender long-term loyalty to your model, with younger individuals receiving their ‘first break’ in enterprise. Many apprentices might want to stay throughout the enterprise after their coaching, and it’s an efficient manner of nurturing a loyal workforce.
A gentle stream of apprentices at the moment could possibly be your thought leaders of tomorrow. The acquainted narrative of a former apprentice rising the ranks is a constructive PR alternative.