Apprenticeships is the topic on everyone’s lips at the moment, with cross-party pledges to increase the number of young people undertaking Apprenticeships following the General Election, and a successful Apprenticeship Week highlighting the benefits of the scheme to businesses, educational institutions and learners.
The evidence supporting Apprenticeships as a viable education path to take continues to grow, as research has shown customers favour businesses with Apprentices over those who don’t use Apprenticeship schemes at all.
Customers are more trusting of employers who include Apprenticeships as part of their employment strategy and view them more positively, believing they are contributing to society by doing so. The Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR) research showed that two-thirds of consumers feel this way; furthermore, a quarter would be willing to pay more to businesses who train and hire Apprentices.
Plumbing, hairdressing and the food industry are the services and sectors consumers are more likely to pay premium rates for in return for the employment opportunities offered to Apprentices.
Not only do Apprenticeships offer businesses more consumer loyalty and trust, but they contribute positively to both the organisation and the economy. In addition to the potential extra £18 billion customers would be willing to spend at Apprenticeship-hiring companies, successfully trained Apprentices contribute in excess of £10,000 per annum to the business, with this figure doubling in the construction and planning industry.
These new findings support the CIPD’s previous research that shows 96% of employers who hire and train Apprentices found nothing but benefits to their business. This research contributes to the increasingly large proof that Apprenticeships benefit not only everyone involved, but wider society.
There are still barriers to overcome however; our own research shows only 18% of young people would currently consider undertaking an Apprenticeship due to a lack of information on their post-school options. 24% of school-age learners believe they’ve not been given enough information on Apprenticeships as a viable option, and 36% are concerned that their teachers are too focused on end-of-year exam results and final grades, highlighting the focus still placed on academic pathways in education rather than vocational.
Here at NCFE we fully understand the value that Apprenticeships contribute to a learner’s experience and livelihood – who wouldn’t want to earn while they learn? – but also to employers and the economy. That’s why we offer a number of high quality full and part Apprenticeships at Advanced and Intermediate levels, in a number of sectors including Business, Law and Administration, Retail and Commercial Enterprise, Health, Public Services and Care and many more. The Apprenticeships are flexible, and allow your learners to learn at their own pace alongside their paid work element.
What do you think? Do you offer Apprenticeships? If not, why not? Is it something you’re considering?
