Apprenticeships

Citation

(2009), "Apprenticeships", Education + Training, Vol. 51 No. 3. https://doi.org/10.1108/et.2009.00451cab.009

Apprenticeships

Article Type: Research news From: Education + Training, Volume 51, Issue 3

Apprenticeships offer a win-win situation and, for a relatively small investment, employers get employees with the right skills set, a source of innovative ideas and the means to address the long standing human resource challenges the industry faces, according to research published recently by the Apprenticeship Ambassadors Network (AAN) – a group of FTSE100/250 business leaders.

Table I

Hospitality was one of six industry sectors examined in the research, The Net Benefit to Employer Investment in Apprenticeship Training, undertaken by the Institute for Employment Research at the University of Warwick. The study found that the average payback period for Apprenticeships in the sector was just under a year and the estimated cost of the Apprenticeship £4,326 (see Table I).

The benefits of Apprenticeships highlighted by the research include:

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  increased productivity and quality of work;

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  a more innovative workforce;

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  reduced staff turnover;

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  a better fit between employee skills and company requirements;

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  skilled young recruits to replace an ageing workforce; and

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  developing a pool of potential future managers

Similarly research commissioned by the UKs Learning and Skills Council and released at the start of the UKs Apprenticeship Week 2009 suggests that clear benefits accrue to employers and other stakeholders. Key findings include:

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  a total of 79 per cent of educators said apprentices helped to boost overall productivity;

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  one in five employers are hiring more apprentices to help them through tougher times, with 21 per cent actively recruiting;

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  eight in ten saying they relied on their Apprenticeship programme to give them the skilled workers they needed for the future (78 per cent); and

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  a total of 44 per cent saying they have increased the number of apprentices they employ this year.

Other suggested benefits include: greater staff retention, lower recruitment costs and the ability to fill vacancies more quickly.

The survey was carried out by Populus throughout January 2009 using a sample of 500 respondents who were responsible for Apprenticeship programme recruitment in their companies.

In total, 35,000 new Apprenticeship places were created at the start of 2009. The growth in the number of apprenticeship within the UK has been considerable. In 1997, 65,000 people started an Apprenticeship. In 2007/2008, that number had risen to 225,000. Since January 2009, prospective apprentices have been able to apply online for job vacancies advertised by employers.

According to research from the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) UK employers are supportive of apprenticeships but believe that the government must do more to publicise and support them Of the 800 firms questioned in the survey – many of them small and medium-sized companies – 78 per cent believe that the government is right to introduce new targets and 75 per cent responded that they saw clear benefits in employing apprenticeships. However, employer awareness regarding the new apprenticeship reform programme, driven by the creation of a National Apprenticeship Service (NAS) only stood at 7 per cent. “Our Skills Survey finds real warmth from employers towards apprenticeships, with a clear willingness to back government efforts to double the number of places. But it’s clear from the findings that the government needs to do more to promote key reforms aimed at simplifying the apprenticeship system”, said Dr John McGurk from the CIPD.