Get an Apprentice! Help them, Help You, Help the Country

During my public speaking engagements at business networking events, I have come across many businesses that have realised the benefits of taking on an apprentice. Employers have noticed that taking on an apprentice has led to a more motivated workforce in general. This could be because of the fresh outlook that the apprentices bring with them as well as the positivity and excitement that many young ones have when entering the working world.

If you are looking to motivate your workforce – both long term employees and recent additions to the company payroll - there can be no greater way then taking on an apprentice. Existing employees won’t feel threatened by an apprentice as much as they might be from a new joiner (“oh the new person appears sharp and might get promoted over me”).  Apprentices are motivated, flexible as they tend to have less commitments, and eager to learn. This combination could have a dynamic effect on a business's current staff.

Taking on an apprentice allows companies to train someone in the skills that are needed in their business, thus helping to alleviate delivery pressure and fill a skill-gap that may have been required within the company or will be required in the future. This helping hand by the employer to the apprentice will certainly see the long-term benefits of loyalty to the company from the apprentice themselves. What an outstanding reward!

As a healthy side effect to this, a business that takes on apprentices nurtures the overall skill set level in the society. Always a good thing to give something back to the country. Especially when all you have is to gain a relatively inexpensive and eager to learn resource for your work force.

If you are a business owner and are thinking of taking on an apprentice, be assured that you will be assisting in training the next generation for the business world, giving them vital skills and knowledge that can only come from hands on experience.

From April 2017 the UK Government will be introducing an Apprenticeship Levy thus changing the way that apprenticeships will be funded. The implementation of this levy will mean that any company that operates in the UK that has a payroll bill of over ￡3 million each year will now be required to make an investment in apprenticeships of 0.5% of their annual pay bill thus assisting with both the quantity and the quality of apprenticeships within the United Kingdom.

The government has a target to have a total of 3 million apprenticeships within the UK by 2020. This will be a great arrangement to help in ensuring the survival of Apprenticeships in the long-term and thus helping train the next generation in business.

If you would like more information on the levy that will be introduced in 2017 please go to:  https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/apprenticeship-levy-how-it-will-work/apprenticeship-levy-how-it-will-work

This is a WIN-WIN situation for all parties. A win for the apprentice in gaining real world experience in a business. A win for the business in getting a young, hopefully bright person inducted into the workforce – someone who can “grow” with the company. And a win for the country whose newly qualified working age population gets a strong start in their careers. In all my public speaking engagements with businesses and at schools and colleges, I try to promote the apprenticeship programme – this is a great initiative so let’s make this a success!

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Karthik Nagesan specializes in public speaking and presenting in large and small events. For more information please email [email protected].

Twitter: @Karthik_Nagesan