The Business Case for Apprenticeships

Recently AssistKD was asked about the business case for running the Business Analysis Level 4 Apprenticeship. So how does the business case for hiring and growing apprentices stack-up? This article looks at the 5 key arguments. We hope you find it useful.?

1. Government Funding Is Available?

There is plenty of support available to organisations on an apprenticeship journey, both in terms of guidance and all-important funding. Government funding is available for a range of apprenticeships and larger organisations will already be paying into a levy pot, money which can only be spent on training with an approved training provider. It is not free money, but this cash is ring-fenced for a single purpose; skills development against a recognised scheme or Standard. Businesses with a total annual pay bill of less than ￡3 million will pay just 5% of the cost of apprenticeship training and the Government pays the rest.?

You can find out more about government funding here .?

The funding for the Business Analyst (BA) apprenticeship covers a comprehensive training programme that might total over 400 hours of learning (an 18-month programme). You can also count on training providers to:?????

? Provide guidance on getting started with running an apprenticeship programme.??

? Help with advertising roles and selecting candidates?

? Assess the suitability of the scheme for individual learners to make sure everything is workable??

A structured programme of learning will include:??

? Trainer-led courses?

? Flexible eLearning??

? Ongoing mentor support from an experienced practitioner??

? Well-being checks and personal skills development??

? Coaching on deliberate practice??

? Guidance on the assessment process????

The healthy mix of training suits a range of learning styles. Importantly, apprentices are required to use their skills in a real work context, providing hard evidence of their achievements in a detailed portfolio.?The portfolio is the mainstay of the assessment process.???

2. Apprentices are the Lowest Resourcing Cost??

Lowering initial resource costs is a solid start point for any business case calculations. There are no prizes for guessing that an apprentice salary will appear as a lower cost item on the team balance sheet.??

One well-known insurance company provided a simple cost comparison as part of their apprenticeship business case some 6 years ago. This ran over an 18-month period, the average term of apprenticeship learning.?

They found that Apprenticeships were the lowest resourcing cost for recruiting to their team of business analysts, with internal graduate schemes coming second. Recruiting from third-party graduate schemes proved to be over double the cost. The most expensive resource was external contractors – almost six times the cost of engaging an apprentice. ?

Start out costs are one thing, but levels of utilisation should also be factored into any business case. The above graph does not plot the time taken for an apprentice to be working productively, or the investment of time required to effectively support those new to the profession. More of this in a moment...??

3. Apprentices can become chargeable resources within months

Coming back to levels of utilisation and the investment of time to support a new apprentice, the experience of many BA Managers is to see a gradual ‘ramp up’ in the work an apprentice takes on independently. Within a few months an apprentice will be completing on minor tasks and in 6-9 months can be making a reasonable contribution and this is often seen as a ‘chargeable’ resource. However, employers must remember that one day per week is reserved for formal learning. This time is a critical requirement of the apprenticeship contract and all part of the investment proposition.????

4. A Potential 24% Cost Saving Per Apprentice??

“Over five years, hiring apprentices at a career starter level realised a 24% cost saving per apprentice when factoring salary, training cost contribution from levy funding, wider costs and utilisation comparted to experienced staff members.” - NFU Mutual.??

NFU Mutual looked in detail at the medium- and long-term business case for apprentices. Their initial interest in apprenticeships was sparked by the realisation that the demographic of the BA team was tilted to the older age bracket. Hiring the stars of the future was then an immediate focus. The business case for apprentice development had to stack up. NFUM moved from being purely a hiring BA practice to being a learning BA practice with a focus on learning, training, and sharing knowledge.?

The salary bandings for the apprentice roles at NFUM attracted younger candidates, providing an influx of talent, enthusiasm, fresh approaches and, importantly, succession planning within the team.?

Five years into their apprenticeship programme and the expected returns have been more than realised.?

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Charting the cost profile of the apprentice (internal charging scale), what starts at a higher price point, given support investment costs, soon balances out with skilled business analysts delivering independently on projects at a lower cost. Each year the costs savings accumulate, and the savings can be multiplied by the number of apprentices employed. The ratio of experienced staff to apprentices is a delicate balancing act but numbers can be increased as you gain more familiarity with scheme.??

Over a five-year period, hiring apprentices at a career entry level realised a 24% cost saving per apprentice when factoring salary, training cost contribution from levy funding, wider costs and utilisation compared to experienced staff members. Not something to be sniffed at.??

5. Wider Long- and Short-Term Benefits Offer Significant Value?

There are many less immediately tangible, yet highly significant, benefits to establishing an Apprenticeship scheme, contributing significant value in the short and longer term.??

Attracting, Retaining and Developing Talent??

Apprenticeships attract new talent and retain, develop, and utilise existing talent.???

• Employees of any age can cross-train, bringing business knowledge and known personal skills. Apprenticeships have no age limit, for example the Level 4 BA apprenticeship has learners ranging from 18 to 64 years of age, with 71.5% over the age of 25 and 19.25% over the age of 40.??

• New talent can contribute to the wider company resource pool – apprentices can head into a range of roles using their BA skills as a base.??

• Apprentices are often loyal to the company that invested in them, and become long-term, valuable employees.?

Energising the existing team

• New starters bring energy and enthusiasm to invigorate the entire team; they are already established in decent work routines from school, college, or university; are typically good with social media and modern technology; offer fresh perspectives and can relate to younger customers.?

• The energy and enthusiasm of learners who are asking pertinent questions and applying best practice is infectious, everybody benefits from having learners on the team.??

• Team managers are called upon to pass on their experience and invest time in apprentices. They are challenged, and energised, by the needs of the apprentices.?

• With their access to the very latest thinking, apprentices can pass useful and timely knowledge and understanding to existing staff, including managers.????

Building Business Capabilities??

The apprenticeship route allows organisations to create a resource pool, developing and shaping in-house capability to meet business needs. By onboarding candidates who are adaptable and willing, organisations can build a team with consistent skillsets, knowledge, and experience.??

What apprentices learn can be applied ‘in the field’ immediately. Apprentices can access the latest thinking and ask relevant questions during their learning that will benefit their organisation. Apprentices quickly become well-trained and skilled, as they practise the learned tools and techniques in real work situations. Apprentices learn from their team manager’s expertise and organisational knowledge, continuing the best practice and in turn passing on their knowledge.?

Futureproofing Workforce Skills??

Apprenticeships are vital for futureproofing the skills of workforces. According to Laura Keen, Apprenticeship Leader at EY UK&I (1):??

“Businesses can get ahead of the curve by identifying and offering different types of schemes that diversify, upskill, and strengthen the capabilities of their employees in strategic areas.?A key takeaway to offer businesses considering offering apprenticeships is - support it with strategy. Match the programme you plan to offer with the skills that you know will be needed in the future. That way you can demonstrate the commercial value of investing in them.?

“The question to answer, for any business considering offering apprenticeships, is ‘What skills do we need to build within our workforce that we don’t have currently, but will need in the next few years?’… The more experience and opportunity you can offer an apprentice, the greater long-term value they can bring to an organisation.”?

Apprentices are the leaders of the future and have the potential to move into leadership roles. There is an increasing demand for skilled business analysts and service designers and the core skills developed during these schemes are highly re-useable in a range of associated professions. ?

Community Outreach and PR??

Offering apprenticeships is a chance for organisations to ‘give back’ and create opportunities. Advertising for apprentices on websites, LinkedIn and wider social media is a chance to tell your story, raising the company and team profile.??

Insurers NFU Mutual held a successful social media campaign to promote their Business Analyst Apprenticeship scheme, offering an attractive starting salary, with the option of a bonus plus no academic fees to be paid. It promised promotion and a significant salary increase on qualification with rapid progression. This campaign achieved over 111,000 views and 1,023 clicks. They also put a rolling advert on their website, and increased recruitment visibility on LinkedIn.??

It is worth noting that the Business Analyst apprenticeship has the best gender parity of all the Digital Route apprenticeships, with around 40% of BA apprentices now women.??

Summary??

This article refers repeatedly to apprenticeships as a long-term investment opportunity as opposed to a ‘quick fix.’ They are, however, potentially hugely rewarding for the bottom line. As this is very much a business case for apprenticeships, there is no mention of the life-changing opportunities for those starting or changing careers... but you are allowed to occasionally do good things in your working life.?????

You can read more about 'growing your own' and the learning experience of an apprentice in these two related articles.?

Filling the Business Analysis Skills Gap | Assist Knowledge Development ( assistkd.com ) ??

My Experience of the Business Analysis Apprenticeship | Assist Knowledge Development ( assistkd.com ) ??

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