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 hooked up 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, nevertheless, a clamour for cheaper apprenticeships has prompted the proportion of British college 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 corporations 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 abilities gaps. We assessment the advantages and supply why you must think about apprenticeship schemes in 2023.
Shut the Abilities Hole
In November 2022, 13.3% of companies surveyed by the ONS reported a scarcity of staff, whereas the federation of small companies discovered that 80% of small corporations confronted difficulties recruiting candidates with appropriate abilities. Apprenticeships might help to fill this void.
As an alternative of in search of these scarce silver-bullet hires, companies must also look to recruit and upskill apprentices. 86% of employers, for example, stated that apprenticeships helped them develop abilities related to their organisation. Unencumbered by unhealthy 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 know-how literate. Excessive-level apprenticeships could incorporate the event of an enormous vary of abilities 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 having 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 staff are usually cheaper 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 also 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 Employees Retention
Brilliant-eyed, high-energy apprentices getting into the office can ease the burden in your present workforce. Typically they will alleviate the stress of straightforward, time-consuming duties. What candidates lack in expertise, they might make up for in enthusiasm, helping with lower-level duties, growing capability and boosting morale.
Apprenticeships may engender long-term loyalty to your model, with younger individuals receiving their ‘first break’ in enterprise. Many apprentices could want to stay inside the enterprise after their coaching, and it’s an efficient manner of nurturing a loyal workforce.
A gradual stream of apprentices right this moment might be your thought leaders of tomorrow. The acquainted narrative of a former apprentice rising the ranks is a constructive PR alternative.