The power of apprenticeships

It’s National Apprenticeship Week and here at Porter Dodson we are strong believers in the power of the apprenticeship. We know that employers are constantly struggling to fill vacancies and recruit the right candidates for roles, especially smaller businesses where sometimes simply having someone in the role can feel like the top priority.

However, for long term stability, don’t overlook the humble apprenticeship. It’s a concept which has been around since the dawn of time, but has been subject to a significant revamp in the past 20 years. Apprenticeship schemes help you nurture talent and shape a future employee to develop the skills your business needs, but they can bring substantial benefits to your bottom line too. They should be seen a long-term investment, rather than a cost.

Did you know: 

• Businesses that employ apprentices report a productivity increase of up to 20% (source: UKCES).
• 80% of apprentices stay with the same employer for at least 2 years after completing their apprenticeship (source: NAS).
• For every £1 invested in apprenticeships, businesses gain £26 in increased productivity (source: CEBR).

Lots of positives! But despite their growing popularity, one common myth still prevails and we need to put that right:

Your standard employment contract isn’t enough!

It isn’t, at least not if you want to properly protect your business and be able to deal with performance and misconduct issues in the same manner as you address them with other employees.

If we delve into the history of apprentices, the key point was that they were there to learn. They were not (and are not) expected to be the finished product. In short, the law said employers should expect to be more tolerant of underperformance. That still rings true today but the law has provided employers with the equivalent of a get out of jail free card. The card? Have the right contracts in place. If you don’t, you’re on that sticky wicket if things aren’t working out and you really do need to take advice to avoid a bigger issue.

Another important point, if you’re relying on the apprentice wage rate, having the right contract in place is crucial to avoid an inadvertent national minimum wage breach.

If you need help, whether this National Apprenticeship Week or otherwise, we’re here. We’ve put together a helpful flyer outlining the key legal must-haves for your apprenticeship agreements. You can find a copy here.