5 Benefits of Hiring an Apprentice

Is your business struggling to find the right people to take your business to the next level? Are you finding hiring people in today's post-pandemic world challenging? Do your existing teams lack the modern skills to compete with rival brands? If you answered yes to any of these questions, then maybe it's time to consider hiring an apprentice.

You may have a preconceived view of what an apprentice is and what they can achieve for your business. However, we're here to break that stigma and show you what an apprentice can bring to your organisation. So, stick with us and discover the top five benefits of hiring an apprentice. 

1. Upskill Your Team 

An effective way to improve your business is to upskill your existing workforce. Investing in your current employees' development can prove beneficial because you already have a mutual understanding. They know your company, your policies, and your values, while you are aware of their skills, experience, and attitude.

By identifying areas of improvement, you can help your team to learn new skills. With your team becoming increasingly equipped to fulfil their job role, their rate of productivity and performance will grow to a higher standard. In addition, as your staff continually develop their skills, they will be exposed to more opportunities within your company.

When you invest in their professional development, your staff will have something to work towards. In addition, with clear progression paths in place, your staff's morale will improve. Your employees will be determined to stick around for longer and make the most of the opportunities. This is a huge plus for your company, as retaining employees is much cheaper than hiring new staff members.

2. Combat the Skills Shortage

Another consequence of the pandemic was a skills shortage across most industries. In 2020 alone, 56% of UK organisations experienced a skills shortage. With businesses across the UK and overseas facing a lack of qualified talent to fill their vacancies, the skills shortage genuinely threatens a business's long-term progression. Ultimately, the perfect solution to combat the skills shortage is to hire an apprentice or use an apprenticeship programme to upskill an existing employee with the skills they lack. 

Apprenticeship programmes present employers with motivated people that are eager to learn and develop the skills to advance their careers and your business. With on and off-the-job training and experience, apprentices are given the theory and practical knowledge to fill your organisation's skills gap. Apprentices are often quick learners, developing the necessary skills to help organisations overcome their skills shortage in no time. 

3. Increase Productivity

Hiring an apprentice is not only cost-effective and a way of filling any skills gaps or shortages within your business, but it's also a great way to increase productivity within your business. Previous studies have shown that up to 96% of companies that employed apprentices witnessed an increase in internal productivity.

A substantial reason apprentices increase a business's productivity is because they're extremely hard working. This may seem obvious, but it's true. Apprentices are typically hungry for an opportunity, eager to learn and ready to impact your business. Their contagious enthusiasm will spur the rest of your team to step up, increasing the work levels across the board. 

When you hire an apprentice, this can free up the time of other senior members of your team who may have been doing tasks an apprentice could quickly pick up. In addition, your apprentice can take the workload off your wider team, allowing your existing staff to focus on impacting other business areas. Ultimately, with increased productivity, increased revenue and ROI should follow suit. 

4. Apprenticeship Levy Funding

Apprenticeships are a helpful tool to fill job vacancies and close your company's skills gap. While taking on a new apprentice might appear to be a costly financial investment, it's a cost-effective method of hiring young talent as apprenticeship funding is widely available. 

If your company has a pay bill above £3 million, there is a requirement for you to pay the apprenticeship levy. You will receive funds to help train your apprentices by paying the levy. Essentially, this tax is in place to encourage employers to create and invest in apprenticeship positions.

For companies that don't have to pay the apprenticeship levy, the cost of training will be shared with the government. The government will cover 95% of the training and assessment costs, leaving you with just 5% of the fee.

With the knowledge that you can get help from the government to pay for the training of apprentices, you might be left wondering how you can utilise apprenticeships to improve your business.     

5. Futureproof Your Business

By providing apprenticeships for young people, you are helping to develop the next generation of workers. You can either upskill existing workforce members or take on new apprentices. An advantage of hiring an inexperienced apprentice is gaining access to a new staff member with no lousy industry habits. Also, with the assumption that they are keen to continue learning, apprentices will be able to provide your company with more value in the future. 

With an array of opportunities to continue their growth, your staff is more likely to remain loyal. Therefore, you will be able to close your skills gap and future-proof your business. With Pareto being the UK's largest sales training and assessment provider, we can help your staff to acquire new skills and complete apprenticeship programmes. Ultimately, our offering can help future-proof your business. 

Our sales apprenticeships and leadership courses are here to strengthen your sales teams, helping you realise your business's potential. For over 25 years, we have been enhancing sales strategies, improving sales performances and growing businesses across the UK. In turn, our sales coaching has nurtured the sales skill and developed the careers of sales professionals and sales leaders within the industry. 

So, if you're interested in taking on an apprentice, explore our apprenticeship offering. Alternatively, get in touch today if you need more information on how we can support your organisation through our apprenticeship programmes and recruitment expertise.