In line with authorities statistics complete 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 financial 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 more cost effective 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 at the moment are a number of the most coveted programs within the nation, with companies equivalent to Rolls Royce and Dyson receiving extra purposes 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 over apprentices additionally affords big enterprise alternatives, from diversifying their providers to plugging expertise gaps. We evaluation the advantages and supply why it is best to think about 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 companies confronted difficulties recruiting candidates with appropriate expertise. Apprenticeships might help to fill this void.
As a substitute of searching for these scarce silver-bullet hires, companies must also look to recruit and upskill apprentices. 86% of employers, as an example, stated that apprenticeships helped them develop expertise related to their organisation. Unencumbered by dangerous habits, apprenticeships can carry recent vitality to a enterprise and be moulded to satisfy your organization’s necessities. That is very true when youthful individuals are so adaptable and expertise literate. Excessive-level apprenticeships might incorporate the event of an enormous vary of expertise regarding expertise, from structure to working with structural evaluation software program.
Apprenticeships Provide 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 exhibits that authorities covers 95% of coaching prices whereas youthful staff are sometimes more cost effective of their wage parameters. Return on funding is critical, with some forecasters estimating that the typical internet profit for an apprentice throughout their coaching interval was £2,496.
Along with this, apprenticeships may save on recruitment charges. In line with Glass Door, the typical 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. Usually they’ll alleviate the stress of easy, time-consuming duties. What candidates lack in expertise, they could make up for in enthusiasm, aiding with lower-level duties, growing 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 means of nurturing a loyal workforce.
A gentle stream of apprentices right this moment could possibly be your thought leaders of tomorrow. The acquainted narrative of a former apprentice rising the ranks is a optimistic PR alternative.