Thousands of businesses just like yours have experienced how apprenticeships boost their business with new talent and improved skills of current staff. When it comes to things like recruitment, oftentimes, businesses can struggle with this. Particularly, when it comes to making sure that they recruit good employees. That’s why PEO companies (like the ones found on this list at retireat21.com) are so helpful because they can do the hard work for you. However, for the business owners who are interested in recruiting their own team, by themselves, then the easiest way to do this is to look at making the most of apprenticeships.
Apprenticeships have a great impact on businesses of all sizes and bring a range of benefits including, increased productivity and staff retention, new energy and ideas, enhanced reputation, improved customer service, plus improved profitability and cost savings.
The Government is committed to making apprenticeships more relevant to your business: more rigorous, better structured, independently assessed and more responsive to skills needs in your business.
There’s a range of support and funding to help you to start or grow your apprenticeship program. Additionally, the implementation of something like Deputy time clock software could help make managing a group of apprentices (or just a team in general) a lot less stressful, especially if you’re able to monitor their breaks, start and finish times too.
‘STEP’ provides 4 easy ways for you to access government help to use apprenticeships to benefit your business:
Support: the government will pay 90% of your training and assessment costs for the lifetime of the apprenticeship, any age, any level (up to funding band maximum)
Teen grant: an extra £1,000 grant will be paid when you take on a 16 to 18 year-old, or a 19 to 24 year-old that has previously been in care
Entrepreneur offer: if you have under 50 staff you will also see 100% of training and assessment costs paid for if you recruit an apprentice aged 16 to 18
Provision for additional support if you take on those with additional learning needs further support is also available
You are also not required to pay National Insurance Contributions for apprentices under the age of 25 on earnings below the higher tax rate of £827 a week (£43,000 a year).
If you are thinking of recruiting apprentices or upskilling your existing staff through apprenticeships and you need further advice and support, call 0800 015 0600 or email the National Apprenticeship Service. If you are someone who is looking into further training then, with businesses starting to pay more attention to these types of training, you might want to look into different apprenticeships such as engineering apprenticeships.
