Apprentices are usually perceived as young and inexperienced workers. This perception needs to change because we believe apprentices are the future. There are several reasons for this; in this post we will go over and detail the positives and negatives. While employing apprentices may come with difficulties, the value they bring far outweighs any negatives.

Firstly, there are the positives: these range from Government support, building experience as opposed to relying upon it. Along with creating tight-knit relationships which will build and strengthen during the apprenticeship process. Another positive is the differing pay rates apprentices receive compared to a full-time employee. By employing apprentices you are investing in your workforce and training them to tailor fit your workforce like a tailored suit or a hand-crafted dress.

The negatives of this are the extra effort that goes into training an apprentice as well the time the training takes although these negatives still apply if you are hire someone who is experienced but doesn’t have up to date training and qualifications.

The government support given during apprenticeships comes in the form of paying for the entirety of the apprenticeship or subsidizing some of the apprenticeship costs although these are organization specific. you can find guidance on the government site which will have more details about the support and if your organization is applicable for that support.    ^[1]Government support link

Training an apprentice is also a positive. As you can train them to suit your specific needs. An example being if you use a specific form of software, you can train your apprentice to become a master in that. Whereas if you hired someone from a rival company, you’d still have to train them on your specific software but at full pay.

A negative aspect to keep in mind however which excludes potential apprentices from applying, is the rate of pay. As for some people from lower socio-economic backgrounds who may need a full-time job to support themselves as an apprenticeship rate is lower than a full time position.

The raw numbers.

Now for some statistics which back how an apprenticeship can help your business grow. Between 2010 and 2020. 4.4 million apprenticeships were started averaging out to just under 300,000 each year. These numbers indicate how many businesses see potential in apprenticeships but personally we think more can too. ^[2]Data for starts

In 2011/12. 515,000 apprenticeships were taken on with a success rate of 76.5%, meaning just under 400,000 apprenticeships were successful in that year. ^[3]Success rate data

More recently in 2018/19 160,900 apprenticeships lasted more than a year in 2018/19. The data changed format but remains relevant. This means that 41.2% of apprenticeships in 2018/19 were successful lasting a year or more. ^[4]Apprenticeship length data

These numbers are in steep decline which indicates that apprenticeships aren’t reaching their full potential like they were 10 years ago. We plan to change that by changing the perception that an apprentice is young and inexperienced.