Apprenticeships offer great benefits to business

This has been a challenging year for businesses and the effects for Covid19 have yet to fully bite. We can all but hope for a V-shaped recovery but for many businesses, particularly in retail and hospitality, there may be no recovery.

But business has to go on and we all need to work hard to keep the wheels of industry going and this involves continuing to invest in new talent and skills. Apprenticeships provide that avenue through being available to upskill staff or most importantly to recruit new staff and train them on a structured apprenticeship programme.

Our experience of COVID has been that many businesses have been able to continue as normal and have certain confidence moving forward. They are still recruiting staff as they have orders and work and need to fill vacancies.

Thinking about an apprentice?

If you are thinking about your business needs and have staff and skills gaps then apprenticeships offer a number of business benefits.

The first benefit is financial. The Chancellor of the Exchequer announced at the end of July that businesses who hire a new member of staff and enrol them on to an apprenticeship will receive a cash incentive.

• If the employee is under 19 the employer will receive £3000
• If the employee is 19 to 24 the employer will receive £2000
• If the employee is 25 or older the employer will receive £1500

The second benefit is upskilling. Employees already employed can access apprenticeship programmes as part of an upskilling initiative. For instance, if you have team leaders with no formal management training or qualifications then an apprenticeship is a perfect way for them to access accredited training.

Another benefit is filling skills or productivity gaps. Many businesses who have been fortunate to weather the COVID storm have found that they have skills gaps or are actually short of staff. Apprentices are the perfect solution as they incur lower overheads, access funded training and can be developed into the employee you want. Don't forget that if you employ an apprentice under the age of 21 you are not required to pay Class 1 secondary National Insurance contributions on earnings up to the upper earning limit.

When should you recruit an apprentice?

The simple answer is now! School leavers do now have their results, albeit the process was a little fraught! Whilst many will be looking at going off the college or university, many school leavers will have had their heart set on an apprenticeship and are now in the job market. If you have any plans to hire an apprentice then now is the perfect time to do this. Candidates are looking and if you are not part of the process now then you are in danger of missing out on the strongest applicants.

What do you need to do?

We just need to know about your vacancy or recruitment plans. We have an outstanding and free recruitment service. We advertise the job for you, interview applicants and shortlist the candidates that we think are best for you. You then interview and select the apprentice that will work best for your business.

We will come out of COVID and there will be a recovery. For many of us who have been through previous recessions, no matter how deep, we have always come out of them. What you don't want is to come out of it without the right staff and the right skills.