Apprenticeships: Delivering real value to employers & employees
This week, and after 9 years of supporting apprenticeship programmes, we were delighted to welcome our 5th structural waterproofing cohort of apprentices back to the PCA training centre for their final week with us…especially as it's National Apprenticeship Week 2023. What is really encouraging here is that more and more organisations out there are beginning to see the real value in apprenticeships…and for those reading this now…we hope you can start to see it too!
Apprenticeships really can bring long-term business value…
For those of you that are PCA members or regular readers of our news/blogs, this week you will have seen, read, watched and heard how we (the PCA) are big supporters of apprenticeship programmes. It's part of the reason why we continue to invest in apprentices ourselves and why we have a specialist apprenticeship programme for contractors.
We do appreciate however, that there are many who may not necessarily see what an apprenticeship can offer, what it costs, the time and investment needed and what it may entail? However, with a well documented skill shortage within the construction industry and many contractors/organisations struggling to recruit, apprenticeships may just be the answer many of us are looking for!
Are apprenticeships worth the time & investment?
So what are the measurable benefits of an apprenticeship and how will it translate into delivering real value to both your business and the employee?
Well, apart from the obvious and well publicised benefits such as filling skills gaps, increasing productivity and improving staff retention; hiring an apprentice is a productive and effective way to grow talent and to develop/motivate your workforce. In a study by the National Apprenticeship Service:
- 86% of employers said apprenticeships helped them develop skills relevant to their organisation
- 78% of employers said apprenticeships helped them improve productivity
- 74% of employers said apprenticeships helped them improve the quality of their product or service
From our personal experience, over the last 9 years of both running an apprenticeship programme and continuing to invest in apprentices ourselves, we have seen talent grow and skills come into fruition leading to many apprentices becoming highly valuable members of staff.
So let's talk about money and funding…
Switching the conversation to money, from a financial point of view, there has rarely been a better time to consider investing in apprenticeships.
Let's face it…most business decisions of this type are driven by ‘return on investment’. If your company is registered with CITB you could be eligible for a large reduction in the normal cost of our apprenticeship programmes. To give you an idea of the saving, when looking at our PCA apprenticeship priced at £6500 per candidate, if you employee is eligible, this automatically reduces the cost to £2,200!
That's not all, as your candidate completes elements of the training, further funding will be sent directly to you totaling around £500 - £800 depending on what apprenticeship you sign up for. Finally, once the NVQ has been awarded to the candidate your company can register for the £600 NVQ grant with CITB.
When you start to factor in incentives and funding such as CITB's Skills & Training Fund (which can allow up to £25k for large businesses and up to £10k for SMB’s), plus their new Travel to Train funding initiative; in terms of a ‘return of investment’…the numbers do start to make sense!
Apprenticeships are the future to help our industry
At the PCA, we continue to invest and value our specialist apprenticeship programme and we are working hard behind the scenes to maintain funding for all.
As we enter into our 9th year of apprenticeships, we have seen over 80 apprentices undertake this dedicated training to set them up with a Level 2 NVQ qualification within their industry. In addition, we are continuing to invest in apprentices ourselves with our third and latest apprentice (Harry) joining the Association just over a year ago.
We believe that to help tackle the continuous skills and recruitment gap within the construction and property sectors, these apprenticeship programmes are at the forefront of preparing the industry for the future. We urge all employers to consider and see the benefits to both themselves and their employees.
Don’t just take our word for it…see for yourself
As we stated by the title: apprenticeships can deliver real value to both the employer and the employee. From our experience, we have seen the reward to both parties time and again. As a ‘not for profit’ organisation, it is a very rewarding experience to watch a individuals gain skills for life and become an asset over time for their organisation.
However, for those of you who may not yet be convinced on the benefit of apprenticeships to the business and the individual, why not take the opportunity to click on the video below to listen to the views of our head apprenticeship trainer, Neil Marsden, who has helped develop many generations of our apprentices over the years. Hear his views on how he has seen apprentices benefit employers…
In addition, take the opportunity to visit the ‘National Apprenticeships Week’s website and check out their ‘are they right for you’ section by clicking the button below. There is lots of information from videos, case studies, real life stories, and lots more. You may just realise the real value you can get in return for your investment!
National Apprenticeship Week >>
We are here to help if you have questions
We understand that it can be overwhelming and confusing to know exactly what is involved with apprenticeships and what funding is available. If you are interested in our specialist apprenticeships, we are happy to help.
Our team have assisted many companies with completing the forms and obtaining the right funding, and we will continue to offer this invaluable support moving forward. If you feel apprenticeships may be a way to help your business, then please do get in touch on 01480 400000 or contact us online. We are happy to help in any way we can…
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