New Apprenticeships – What’s in them for Small Businesses?
by Fiona Bruce MP
High quality apprenticeships help young people out of unemployment and into work, as well as boosting the skills of the local workforce to equip the economy for success. So why in the past have small businesses been reluctant to take them on?
One answer may well have been an underlying perception that apprentices are an undue burden on small businesses. But the introduction of new measures to make apprenticeships flexible and relevant to employers across the country – and most importantly for a small business – by offering help towards the costs of employing a young person could, the Government hopes, mean small businesses can think again about taking on an apprentice.
Crucially, the Government’s new provisions provide much needed financial help for the smallest firms to make it economically viable to recruit their first young apprentices. The Government will offer employers with 50 employees or fewer up to £1,500.00 for taking on an apprentice aged between 16 and 24. This will support up to 20,000 new apprenticeships in 2012.
The Government is also slashing the red tape which deters firms from taking on apprentices. Processes will be simplified to make it quicker and easier for employers to take on apprentices; this will include streamlining health and safety requirements so that there are no additional demands on employers.
Through apprenticeships, small businesses have the opportunity to equip apprentices with basic skills and provide a sound investment in, not only their future and the future of the business they work in, but also, critically, the future of the country’s economy. This will be achieved by new quality standards to ensure that every apprenticeship is directly relevant to the specific skill needs of local employers, with every apprentice receiving at least 280 hours of formal training per year.
To ensure high standards, the Government is launching a review in to the standards and quality of apprenticeships. The review will help ensure the Government works effectively with training providers and businesses to continually raise the standards of all apprenticeships, and, most importantly, that training keeps pace with the changing needs of the industry.
There are further opportunities for support locally for a business considering taking on an Apprentice. Plus Dane have used their work in the field of housing services to provide full apprenticeships in a range of trades and administration both with Plus Dane (35 currently) as well as supporting development of a local apprentice initiative in Congleton which has involved East Cheshire Chamber of Commerce, the Congleton Town Partnership and local schools.
Research shows that every pound of public investment in an apprenticeship generates up to £40 for the regional economy. Furthermore, improvements in productivity ensure employers recoup their training costs within three years; and advanced apprenticeships – leading to a degree – such as those offered by Bentley Motors at Crewe - boost an employee’s lifetime earnings by around £100,000.00!
A record 442,700 learners started an apprenticeship in the academic year 2010/22 – an increase of around 50% on the previous year. These new measures will ensure young people and small businesses feel the full benefits of the successful expansion of apprenticeships.
So, apprentices need not be an undue burden to businesses and in the medium to long term they can be a real boon - enabling an employer to train a young staff member with years ahead of them in the culture, practices and priorities of a firm from day one. The mutual benefits for both apprentices and businesses can help to move the economy forward in Cheshire East; business can gain the skilled workers they need to grow and young people can take steps into rewarding employment.
So why not take a fresh look at taking on an apprentice for your business today?
For more information visit www.apprentice.org.uk
