Gone are the days where an apprentice’s only responsibilities were doing the tea round or being sent for tartan paint. Apprentices now number in the hundreds of thousands and are training in all industries and sectors.
Here are three surprising benefits hiring an apprentice will have on your team.
1.Lower recruitment costs
We’ve written before about the financial benefits of training your existing staff with apprenticeships.
Apprentices are also brilliant new hires. Because they’ll be receiving relevant, accredited training while they work they can immediately bring these skills into the team. Recruiting apprentices can also incur lower recruitment costs for your business.
Our team can help your business utilise your Apprenticeship Levy or access funding of up to 95% from the government (depending on your pay roll bill) of training course costs.
2. Fill digital skills gap
Blockchain, cloud computing, the Internet of Things. The workplace is becoming a brave new world.
The World Economic Forum has described the current leap in machine learning, AI, robotics and more as the ‘Fourth Industrial Revolution’. The WEF predicts that digital skills gaps are set to grow across all industries, as new and existing workers do not have the skills to work with emerging technologies. Open Access Government reported that this digital skills gap could hurt GDP growth in the UK to the tune of £141 billion.
You can no longer assume that fresh school leavers, or even University graduates, will have the specific digital capabilities to take your business forward into this new era, but the good news is that human abilities like problem-solving, negotiating and interpersonal skills will always matter.
So where do apprentices fit into this picture? Well, hiring apprentices and training them with the relevant digital skills in emerging technologies is a brilliant way to bridge the digital skills gap in your team.
3. Improve productivity
In research conducted by the Learning and Skills Council, 80% of employers said that taking on apprentices had increased productivity among their teams.
As well as putting their new training into action, apprentices can improve productivity in your teams by taking on a range of tasks from other staff, freeing them to focus on other activity.
To hear how our team can help you access apprenticeships to benefit your business, contact our team today.
