Apprenticeships: New talent, new skills, and lots of business value

Businesses need people with the right skill sets; talented people now and talent in the pipeline for succession planning. These people are not always easy to find, particularly at the time that they are needed. Here’s a potential solution: grow your own via the often overlooked Apprenticeship Scheme.

Hiring an apprentice is often easier than many businesses think – and with the financial support available from the Government, they provide an attractive option to fulfilling your talent needs, plugging skills shortages, and supporting your succession planning. They also help support our young people by providing them with opportunities to learn and grow.

“There are multiple benefits for employers taking on apprentices – from growing talent and skill sets, to filling skills gaps and aiding employee retention. It also helps to level up opportunities for young people across the economic divide.”

Russell Gould, MD Hensoldt UK

We know! We have welcomed many apprentices over the years with Abby and Callum being the latest. Both joined us knowing that they wanted to ‘earn whilst they learn’ and both have become fantastic assets to HB: working with clients whilst gaining valuable skills and experience. They also join in with all our charity work and fun that we have as a team.

“An apprenticeship was just what I wanted as I can connect what I learn in theory to a real life scenario. This makes things easier to learn and as a result, my confidence has grown enormously.”

Abby Debnam, HB Apprentice

“Being an apprentice is far more than just having a job – you get so many more opportunities to learn and grow. For example, since joining HB, I’ve was part of the team doing a charity skydive to raise money for HB’s nominated charity, Teens Unite.”

Callum Morgan, HB Apprentice

Apprenticeships are there for people of any age, from school leavers at 16 or 18, university graduates and those who want to further their careers or enjoy a career change. You can even upskill an existing employee – a potential way to retain staff that may otherwise be let go due to the current crisis caused by lockdowns. There are hundreds of training providers across Hertfordshire and beyond, all on hand to deliver the training and assessment you need to provide to help our young people grow – and to help your business prosper.

Apprenticeship Levy

As well as all the business benefits, there are financial incentives for hiring an apprentice. From one-off payments to support for ongoing training costs, the range of government financial support helps make an apprenticeship scheme a viable option for even small businesses.

For example, if you are a business with fewer than 50 employees, the government will pay 100% of the apprenticeship training costs up to a funding maximum for all apprentices aged between 16-18 years old. You pay a percentage of the training costs for older apprentices, topped up by government support.

Bear in mind that if you’re a business with a payroll exceeding £3 million a year, then you need to pay an apprenticeship levy. These funds may be spent on training and assessing your apprentices and are topped up by the government.

You can discover more here

An incentive for businesses employing new apprentices before end January 2021

Receive up to £2,000 for every 16-24 year old apprentice that is new to your business or up to £1,500 if they are aged 25 or over. Business will receive an additional £1,000 if the apprentice is aged between 16-18 years. This incentive is designed to support employers with finding the skills they need to recover from the impact of Covid-19 and to help with creating new jobs.