Member Article

Isn’t it time we start to love Apprenticeships again?

Despite a 61% decline in starts, Apprenticeships still have a lot to offer by helping businesses to grow their own talent, improve staff retention and equip them with the skills needed to succeed.

Since early 2017 the Apprenticeship brand has had a rough ride. Much of which can be attributed to the wide sweeping reforms introduced by Government, rightly aimed at modernising and improving the competitiveness of the provision.

However, there has been much uncertainty centred around the timing, complexity and vastness of change with many from the sector claiming it to be too much, too soon.

For example, since the introduction of the Apprenticeship Levy in April 2017, 53% of Levy paying employers have written off their Levy bill as a tax, calling for this to be replaced by some form of ‘Training Levy’ instead. And just 46% of Levy employers plan to rebadge their training to accommodate Apprenticeships. Has the message about the benefits of Apprenticeships been missed?

Reports regarding the closure of large monolithic skills giants hasn’t helped either. I am of course referring to both the nation’s largest skills provider, Learndirect, receiving a controversial Grade 4 Ofsted inspection, and the UK’s largest construction employer, Carillion, going into receivership and together leaving thousands of individuals facing uncertain futures – apprentices among them.

But, despite a negative 12-month period, Apprenticeships still have a lot to offer. Since the introduction of both Higher and Degree Apprenticeships the provision can finally be taken seriously as a highly attractive competitor to college and university.

So, have Levy paying employers missed the point?

Are the renewed Apprenticeships under threat of failing before even getting off the ground? After so much uncertainty in the industry, isn’t it about time we start to love apprenticeships again?

Challenges faced by HR managers and business owners

To understand the true potential and benefits of Apprenticeships, let’s first address the challenges HR managers and business owners commonly encounter when looking to hire new skills.

In a survey conducted by Indeed in 2016, 86% of HR managers said they find it increasingly challenging to find and hire technical talent.

Additionally, 83% of HR managers who hired people that weren’t exactly qualified, believe it hurt their business either from lost revenue, slower productivity, or increased team tension and burnout.

There clearly is an opportunity for Apprenticeships to play an essential role in filling the areas where skills gaps are greatest. One such area of concern is the growing shortage of ‘digitech’ skills.

And According to Shankar Narayanan, head of UK&I, Tata Consultancy Services, “there is a shortfall of 40,000 people with STEM skills which is costing the UK economy £63 billion per year.”

Alarmingly, the FSB also found that over a quarter of small business owners lack confidence in their basic digital skills, and more than a fifth believe this lack is restricting the growth of their business.

Benefits to recruiting an Apprentice

Without a doubt, whatever industry your business operates in, Apprenticeships offer a range of benefits and excellent potential for growth.

The rewards outweigh the constraints including growing and moulding your own apprentice to meet the specific needs of your business, solving recruitment challenges, and breeding creativity and enthusiasm with new talent.

90 percent of employers believe apprenticeships help provide a consistent flow of suitably trained staff, and 74% of small businesses that employ an apprentice report a significant improvement to business productivity.

Anthony Impey, founder of Optimity, recalls “we were struggling to find the right tech skills for our business, and young people now are more tech-savvy than any generation before, so we saw a huge, untapped opportunity.”

How would your business go about hiring an Apprentice?

At CliQify Skills, as part of our recruitment strategy we conduct thorough client profiling to help match high quality candidates against the digital skills gaps that exist within your business.

We are also the only training provider in the UK that uses technology as a way of addressing the cultural fit between you and potential candidates. This results in improved staff retention, reduced employee turnover costs and better invested training opportunities.

Now more than ever, it’s time to #LoveApprenticeships again!

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Adrian Bishop .