Member Article

UK Companies Using Levy Funds Confident of Talent Pipeline Ahead of Brexit Skills Gap

Newly released UK L&D report demonstrates the increasing value of investing in apprentices.

The 2019 U.K. L&D report released by findcourses.co.uk provides a guidepost for organizations looking to thrive despite the possible skills challenges presented by Brexit.

The survey of L&D professionals working in the U.K. revealed that 60 percent of companies already using their apprenticeship levy funds are very confident that they have a sustainable talent pipeline. However, only 15 percent of U.K. companies surveyed said they were confident in their ability to secure new talent as Brexit looms and the U.K.’s population ages.

In light of the U.K.’s uncertain Brexit outcome, companies looking preempt obstacles can look to market leaders to find the most lucrative models of success. The report shows that 90 percent of leaders are actively using levy funds to train apprentices and that all viewed apprenticeships as an important or very important part of their L&D strategy.

Organizations utilizing apprenticeships have found that alongside increasing the engagement of staff, knowledge sharing between new recruits and those approaching retirement age has been promoted.

Despite the benefits of apprenticeship programs highlighted in the report (such as retaining crucial knowledge within a business as a portion of the workforce retires), organizations in the U.K. have a largely overlooked opportunity to capitalize upon a talent pipeline that will give them a competitive advantage both now and in the future.

“Apprentices are a whole set of new challenges,” says Becca Thurston from Wessex Water, interviewed as part of the report, “but from an employer perspective, while the cost of recruiting an apprentice versus a new member of staff is equitable, I think the retention of apprentices is higher. When you take them on younger they tend to be more loyal to a company as they have learnt the ropes with your organisation. So they not only add sustainability and security, but they promote cross-generational learning. We have a lot of workers nearing retirement age who want to share their knowledge and expertise. They know they’ll retire in the next 10-15 years but they want to be a part of the business’ future.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Sophie Austin .