Benefits to Employers

Apprentices can bring new ideas and fresh thinking into a business, they are eager to learn and to play their part, the companies that harness this energy often report an uplift in motivation from existing employees.

Because apprentices are involved in a work related training often in the form of an NVQ they will gain additional skills to add value to the practical on job learning they will do at work. The provider of the apprentice will often be able to offer work based NVQ qualifications to your existing staff regardless of how long they have been doing the job, so you will see a culture of achievement growing and this often results in increased productivity, a more motivated workforce an increase in staff retention and most importantly increased profitability!

Research recently conducted on behalf of the LSC from the National Apprenticeship Service says :

• 77% of employers believe apprenticeships make them more competitive;
• 76% say that apprenticeships provide higher overall productivity;
• 80% feel that apprenticeships reduce staff turnover;
• 83% of employers rely on their apprenticeships programme to provide the skilled workers that they need for the future;
• Two-thirds of respondents believe that their apprenticeship programme helps them fill vacancies more quickly, whilst 88% believe that apprenticeships lead to a more motivated and satisfied workforce.
• 59% report that training apprentices is more cost-effective than hiring skilled staff, with 59% believing that apprenticeships lead to lower overall training costs and 53% feeling that they reduce recruitment costs;
• In terms of the return on investment linked to apprenticeships, 41% say that their apprentices make a valuable contribution to the business during their training period, while a further third (33%) report that apprentices add value within their first few weeks (or even from Day One);
• 57% report a high proportion of their apprentices going on to management positions within the company.
• Over three-quarters of respondents expect apprenticeships to play a bigger part in their recruitment policy in the future.