Apprenticeships provide opportunities for graduates to start developing an exciting career. They also benefit the broader economy. However, these aren’t the only ways in which apprenticeships are advantageous, as they also have a lot to offer in terms of benefits to employers too. These are just some of the reasons why it makes sense to look at apprenticeships for your business.

• Improving the way you approach recruitment. The process of recruitment is incredibly time consuming and filled with risk. It can also be costly and not all relationships work out, especially if you’re bringing in someone who is an unknown to the business. Apprenticeships provide an opportunity to cut recruitment costs and to upskill existing staff so that you can fill skills gaps without the need to hire externally.
• A boost to productivity and service. Apprenticeships can have a wide range of positives for any business investing in them. For example, one government survey found that 86% of employers saw a benefit from ‘the development of skills relevant to the organisation’ as a result of hiring apprentices. In the same survey, a further three quarters of employers noted improved productivity, as well as increased staff morale and a better quality of product or service due to apprenticeship investment.
• Apprentices develop skills and experience that is directly relevant to the job they are going to do. Degree apprenticeships have been specifically designed in collaboration with industry to plug skills gaps. So, they are laser-focused on ensuring that apprentices develop exactly the right skills they need to do a job. This means that your apprentices will be acquiring what they need to deliver to a specific job brief for your organisation while they remain with you.
• Connecting with the brightest talent. Apprenticeship programmes attract ambitious people who want to improve and are a big incentive for job seekers. If you’re keen to ensure that your business has a big pool of talented candidates to choose from, offering apprenticeships can help you to achieve this.
• Ensuring that your business has a high calibre workforce. Apprenticeships provide the opportunity to build the team you actually need and to ensure that you have access to a high calibre workforce to help drive growth. Highly skilled staff who have been well trained are a huge asset to any business and will go on to inspire others across the organisation to improve their own skill set.
• Creating a motivational baseline. Apprenticeships help keep people motivated, both in the short and the long term, by giving them the opportunity to develop key skills over a number of years. Every apprentice you take on will be working towards a valuable qualification that will not only give them new skills and experience but also set them off on a specific career path with many more options for the future.

Working with a variety of apprenticeship options is a simple way for any business to improve both existing and new staff with opportunities for learning, teaching, and mentoring. Such schemes, if implemented with care and planning, help reinforce a culture of collaboration and trust at all levels within the business. Ultimately, they are beneficial to all round – companies can develop their own raw talent while existing staff have an opportunity to share their knowledge and skills to others who will flourish under their guidance. Who is not going to get real satisfaction from that?