Today marks the start of National Apprenticeship Week, a week-long celebration where businesses across the country come together to recognise and acknowledge the apprentices in their business. The week also helps raise awareness of apprenticeships and educates business owners about how an apprentice can be a great addition to their business.
What is an apprenticeship?
In a nutshell, an apprenticeship gives an individual an opportunity to learn on the job (in your workplace) but gives them 20% of their week off site or away from their role in your business. This time is spent with their apprenticeship provider where they will be completing classroom-based learning. An apprenticeship can be between one and four years long, and will, by the end, result in a nationally recognised qualification.
Why your business should employ an apprentice
Hiring an apprentice can be extremely rewarding for your business for a number of reasons, especially if you have a team who are willing to aid your apprentice’s learning and development.
Breath of fresh air
Hiring an apprentice can be a breath of fresh air for your company. Having someone come in without having previous experience can bring new ideas to the table that existing employees might not have thought about.
Mould into the business
Hiring an apprentice means you have someone joining your company with limited experience but who is willing to learn. This gives you the chance to mould the apprentice into a highly skilled and knowledgeable member of the team.
Increased productivity
Studies have shown that over 80% of businesses that employed apprentices found their productivity had increased as a result. This is down to the apprentice’s desire to learn and share new ideas, as well as increasing the number of staff.
Long-term development
Another benefit of hiring an apprentice is that staff within the company will be encouraged to check their processes, to ensure that when teaching the apprentice, they aren’t passing on bad habits.
No recruitment costs
Hiring an apprentice means there are no recruitment costs. Recruitment companies can charge thousands for finding you a new employee. When hiring an apprentice, you skip all of that. Existing employees can also be up-skilled with an apprenticeship.
As a company, All Things Management has hired five apprentices in the seven years we have been running. We believe that they have brought endless new ideas to the table and have grown into knowledgeable people within their field.
