Are you considering employing an apprentice as a new member of your team or upskill an existing member of staff with an apprenticeship? In this guide we will be going over some of the key talking points that you should mention when trying to convince key decision makers within your business that apprenticeships are the correct decision for your team.
Apprentices are a cost-effective way of growing your team.
Employing a new apprentice is an incredibly cost-effective way of growing your team. For a levy paying employer 100% of the cost of the apprenticeship will be covered by your apprenticeship levy fund. If you don’t use your levy fund within two years you will lose it, so in order to get the most out of your money make sure to use your levy fund to hire a new apprentice or upskill an existing member of your team. If you are a SME business 95% of the apprenticeship cost is government funded meaning that you only have to pay 5% of the cost of the apprenticeship.
The minimum wage for an apprentice is also a low cost. If you have an apprentice aged 16-18 the minimum wage is £4.15. If your apprentice is 19 or over and hasn’t completed their first year the minimum wage is also £4.15 a year, once they have completed their first year, they are the entitled to the national minimum wage or nation living wage for their age.
Emphasize the ROI of employing an apprentice.
As we discussed above employing an apprentice is a low-cost way of growing your team however one of the biggest misconceptions that we see is that many people feel that an apprentice doesn’t make a valuable difference. The reality is quite the opposite apprentices can make a huge impact on your business.
Apprentices are eager to get their hands dirty with real meaningful work that they can gain some valuable work exposure from that can help them build their skills. The work ethic that apprentices have is a great asset for a business they will be willing to go the extra mile to do the highest quality work they can and their thirst for knowledge will aid them in growing their skill set during their apprenticeship.
Another misconception that we see surrounding apprenticeships is that a new apprentice will not be very productive. As we have previously stated apprentices will be happy to get stuck into their work so that they can develop their skills. 78% of employers said that apprentices helped them improve productivity (1). The increase of productivity, a hard-working new member of your team at a low cost can have a tremendous return on investment for your business.
Get fresh new ideas from an apprentice.
The type of person who wants to become an apprentice is normally someone who is a go getter that is happy to bring their opinions to the table. Your new apprentice will bring a fresh new perspective to your business that may help them come up with creative ideas that people who have been in the business for a long time may not think of. Bringing a new person into your team who will be able to question all the processes and strategies that you are currently undertaking could help you improve on them.
74% of employers said apprentices helped them improve the quality of their product or service (1). Making improvements to your product or service is crucial to the continued growth of your business so having an apprentice that can aid you in this task would be a great addition to your staff.
Close key skills gaps within your business.
An apprenticeship programme will help you close skills gaps within your business because a member of your team will be trained by industry experts in a specific field. Over time your apprentice will become a specialist in their field who will have all the knowledge and skills required to perform their job role to a high-quality professional standard. 86% of employers said that apprenticeships helped them develop relevant skills in their organisation (1).
Closing key skills gaps within your business is of incredible importance if you want to make sure that your team can continue to innovate and keep a competitive advantage in a highly competitive business environment. If you want to make sure that your team’s skills are constantly developing education is incredibly important. One of the main benefits of educating your staff members through apprenticeships is that everything that they learn will have to be practically applied to their real-world work.
If the key decision makers within your business don’t want to make any new hires you could always upskill your current workforce with apprenticeships. Identify the main skills gaps that you have within your business and approach staff members who may benefit from additional training through an apprenticeship. Upskilling your current staff members can be mutually beneficial as you will gain a higher skilled team member and they will gain a valuable qualification that they can use throughout their career.
Create a loyal workforce.
Employing a new apprentice is a great way to get a hard-working employee who will stick around for the long haul. Bringing an apprentice in and developing their workplace skills around your business and your goals will mean that they will be fully in line with your businesses culture, vision, values and objectives. Someone who has started their career and grown their skills within your organisation will get to know your business inside and out.
All that we have discussed above will contribute to making your apprentice want to continue working with you after their apprenticeship has been completed. If you can create an environment where your apprentices’ skills will continue to develop over the course of their career, they will likely be happy to stay with you for a long time.
Having a loyal staff who will stay within your business for a long time also has a great return on investment. If you have a loyal base of employees will lead to a lower staff turnover which will lead to decreased cost as less time and resources will need to be spent on training new hires.
To wrap up
Apprenticeships are a fantastic tool to grow or upskill your team in a form that can have tremendous return on investment due to their low cost. When pitching apprenticeships to members of your company make sure to mention the points that we have discussed during this article to get across all the wonderful benefits an apprentice can bring to your workplace.
Outstanding IT apprenticeships from Estio Training
At Estio Training we offer a wide range of specialised IT apprenticeships that will help you close the major skills gaps within your business. All our courses are taught by industry professionals who have all the knowledge that your apprentice will need to become an expert within their field.
Whether you are looking to employ a new apprentice or upskill your existing work force get in touch with us today:
Email: hello@estio.co.uk
Phone: 01133 500 333
Sources:
1. www.apprenticeships.gov.uk
