Success in any business so often depends on how well you recruit and retain staff who are both dedicated and flexible, with the skills and experience that are essential to your industry; staff who can adapt to changes in technology and market demand. In the context of a shortage of trained craftspeople to help your business grow, these challenges which you normally thrive on can easily become a burden.
The good news is that it doesn’t have to be this way. Modern Apprenticeships are creating a workforce that is highly skilled in a way that can be tailor-made to suit your organisation. Modern Apprentices get on-the-job training from you, transferable skills development from us (communication, problem-solving, teamwork and so on), all of which adds up to highly respected, nationally recognised qualifications.
Apprentices’ achievements are measured at two levels: Foundation level, which is an 18 month course; and Advanced level, which is a further 24 months of training on top of that. Foundation is the equivalent of NVQ Level 2 (or 5 GCSEs grades A-C); Advanced measures up to NVQ3, (or 2 A Level passes). So, as you can see, you’re getting staff trained to the highest standards that are made to measure for your business.
Modern Apprenticeships depend on collaboration for success. Collaboration between you as the employer, with the London college (or colleges) you partner up with and, of course, the apprentice themselves.
The basis for this partnership – designed to give you and the apprentice the most value from the experience – is in very clearly defined roles and responsibilities all round, from the outset. You’ll need to commit time and resources to recruiting the apprentice (or it may be one of your existing staff members who you think has the potential to grow). You guarantee them on the job training, paid study time, progress reviews and, of course, a salary that reflects their age, experience and skill.
In return, you can expect a solid commitment from your partners to plan the overall programme for your apprentice, ensure that national standards of achievement are met, as well as taking care of the administration.
Modern Apprenticeships are one of the soundest investments you can make in your most valuable resource: your people. Experience shows that Modern Apprenticeships are an effective strategy for retaining skilled staff in a manner that benefits your organisation, as well as the individual. Which stands to reason, when you think about it: you’re making an investment which has been proven to raise staff morale and confidence at the same time as increasing your competitive edge.
