5 Fantastic Reasons Why You Should Hire An Apprentice

UK apprenticesIf you are an employer then, chances are, you have considered whether or not it is worth your effort to hire one or more apprentices for your firm. You will probably also be aware that the current government are working hard to encourage companies to embrace apprenticeships by highlighting the many benefits of apprenticeship programmes both for young people and for you, as an employer.

The good news is, over recent years, many large corporations and smaller firms, too, have seen the rewards of hiring apprentices and, as programmes develop, apprenticeships are shaking off their old image and are increasingly seen as a dynamic addition to recruitment options for employers.

Talented young people are also viewing apprenticeships as true alternatives to university and, at E4S, just in March alone, we received over 48,000 page views of our dedicated Apprenticeships section and handled over 11,000 Apprenticeship applications. Demonstrating the high level of interest there is in apprenticeships at the moment.

If you are still wavering and wondering how offering apprenticeships can benefit your company, here are 5 fantastic reasons why you should hire an apprentice:

 

1. Apprenticeships Are Government Funded & Affordable

Yes, that’s right. If you hire an Apprentice, it is not going to cost you the earth in training funds – because the government will pay for some, or even all, of the training involved, depending on the age of your apprentice. That means you get a potential bright young star working for your company and you get to keep your costs down, too.

 

2. Apprenticeships Simplify The Recruitment & Training Process

For most companies, unless you have a dedicated in-house training team, the apprentice’s formal training, qualification and assessment will be handled by a training provider who offer structured and meaningful training for your apprentice that is relevant to your industry.

As part of their Apprenticeship programme, all young Apprentices learn core skills about the workplace, bring their maths and English (and IT, where relevant) knowledge up to a required level and also gain nationally recognised vocational qualifications in the relevant industry, all handled by the training provider. In the meantime, you can liaise with both your Apprentice and their mentor to discuss the most suitable pathway for your young recruit.

Because the training is structured, you have invested in them and they are doing hands on training in the workplace, your Apprentice feels valued. This builds their confidence so that they work more effectively for your business. This means existing staff can be freed up to work on other projects, too. It’s a win-win situation.

 

3. Offering Apprenticeships Gives Employers The Opportunity To Attract The Best Young Talent

Young people who choose the option of Apprenticeships are often those who are looking for an alternative to the university route. This means you get the first chance of harnessing some of the United Kingdom’s best young talent. And, if you think about it, because Apprentices tend to be young people, they are not coming into the world of work with previous workplace ‘baggage.’ They haven’t developed work habits from another company and this means you can mould your young Apprentice to suit the needs of your company.

Research has shown that because Apprentices feel valued in the workplace, they are loyal employees and this improves your staff retention and helps to build and sustain a strong team ethic within your company. On successful completion of the Apprenticeship, many firms choose to keep on their young recruits and help them to progress further. This promotion from within eases the burden on your future recruitment needs and also means your staff know exactly what is required of them.

 

4. When You Hire An Apprentice, You Do Your Bit For Young People And The UK

Yes, offering Apprenticeships is ethical. Why? Well, for starters, you will be doing your bit to combat youth unemployment in the United Kingdom. You will be helping to create a skilled workforce that will drive the future economy and you will be benefitting your own company in the process.

How? Well, we have already mentioned the structured training and the likelihood that your apprentice will remain loyal to your firm in the future. But another interesting piece of research by the Centre for Business and Economics Research has found that your company can benefit financially in other ways. Consumers who discover that you employ Apprentices are often impressed by the fact that you are investing in young people and prefer to do business with companies that can demonstrate a strong sense of corporate social responsibility over other firms that don’t.

 

5. Young Apprentices Can Offer A New Dynamic To Your Firm

Because of the nature of Apprenticeships – earning whilst you carry out hands-on training in the workplace – young apprentices are generally very keen to learn and succeed, and can offer new, innovative ideas and solutions to problems that could have existed in your firm for some time.

Having a young person, or young people, working around your current team can energise your existing workforce and therefore increase productivity. Remember, Apprentices are not just coming to work each day so that they get their pay cheque at the end of each week or month. They are coming to learn new skills and progress so that they are not just stuck in a rut as the ‘office junior’ or the building site labourer, all the time. They want to succeed and they want to build a career.

This can only benefit your company and, in fact, lots of UK employers who have been hiring apprentices for many years say they believe the continued success of their business depends on strong, sustainable apprenticeship programmes.

 

Hire Your Apprentices Through E4S Today

Convinced? You should be! If you would like to be a part of the new apprenticeship movement and start tapping into Britain’s best young talent why not post an apprenticeship advert with E4S and review the applications? or call 0845 838 0595.

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