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Why your business should hire an apprentice
May 01, 2012
My company BCSG recently conducted some research to understand the attitudes smaller companies have towards hiring apprentices. We thought the results might be interesting in light of the government’s appointment of entrepreneur Jason Holt to review the success of UK apprenticeship schemes.
Most businesses have never had an apprentice
I was surprised to uncover that 78% of the small business owners we surveyed have never hired apprentices to join their workforce. They don’t have any plans to start, either. When asked what was stopping them, 44% said the associated training costs were too high and 30% said the red tape was too complex.
This perhaps explains why the government has recently introduced a flurry of new measures to encourage small businesses to hire and train apprentices:
- Jason Holt is working to improve how apprenticeships are marketed to businesses. He’s also exploring how to cut red tape to make it easier to take on and train apprentices.
- Small companies are being offered a £1,500 incentive payment to take on their first apprentice aged 16 - 24. Around 20,000 small firms are expected to take advantage of the funding, which is being managed by the Skills Funding Agency.
- From August 2012, small businesses taking on apprentices will be required to employ them for a minimum of 12 months in an effort to raise the bar on apprenticeship standards.
I hope these measures help to boost apprentice recruitment, because although hiring apprentices may seem an expensive and labour intensive process, these aspiring business stars can make valuable contributions to the small business market:
- They’re enthusiastic. Apprentices are generally keen to get stuck in, prove themselves and learn as much as possible, bringing a fresh boost to the company.
- They’re loyal. When you invest time and money training apprentices, they feel motivated, valued and grateful to join a skilled team. This increases the chance they’ll remain with the company for longer.
- They have new ideas. Trainees often bring fresh perspectives and innovative solutions to business challenges. This input can play a vital role in keeping a business flexible and relevant.
Has your firm had any experience of employing apprentices? Has the red tape put you off? Leave a comment and let us know.
- Why your first employees are the keys to your success
- Tips for interviewing job candidates
- How to identify training needs
John Davis is managing director of Business Centric Services Group.
See also: http://www.lawdonut.co.uk/news/law/firms-must-take-on-apprentices-for-minimum-of-12-months
It’s all about the Belly
March 30, 2010
I love my job and what I do and as a result I spend lots of my life seeing and hearing things and then being unable to stop myself relating them to being a good leader and what makes organisations work. I guess if I was a musician I’d always have songs in my head!
A few days ago we were doing a long journey in the car and we put story CDs on in the car for our young sons to listen to - and so, for the first time in ages, I heard Aesop’s Fables. Initially I wasn’t really tuned in and then I heard this one and BANG my mind was back in work mode again:
The Belly and the Members Fable - An Aesop’s Fable
One fine day it occurred to the Members of the Body that they were doing all the work and the Belly was having all the food. So they held a meeting, and after a long discussion, decided to strike work till the Belly consented to take its proper share of the work. So for a day or two, the Hands refused to take the food, the Mouth refused to receive it, and the Teeth had no work to do. But after a day or two the Members began to find that they themselves were not in a very active condition: the Hands could hardly move, and the Mouth was all parched and dry, while the Legs were unable to support the rest. So thus they found that even the Belly in its dull quiet way was doing necessary work for the Body, and that all must work together or the Body will go to pieces.
As I listened, it occurred to me that we so often feel that we are the ones who are doing all the work, whether it be at work or at home – and we forget that there are other people in the team who are doing their bit too, but in a quiet, often overlooked way.
I regularly facilitate in situations where someone is convinced that the other departments or individuals aren’t pulling their weight – and I get them to understand and/or work in each other’s departments and also encourage them to make sure their own house is in order before they start casting around to give criticism. These approaches get good results, but I think I’m going to add this fable into my toolkit as it underlines the point very succinctly and is a great model for good organisational design. I probably need to pin it on the fridge at home too!
Emma Warren, Portfolio Directors
This post originally appeared on Emma Warren's blog
Marcela's story continues... Off to the bank
February 22, 2010
I had always thought that the word “entrepreneur” sounded so glamorous. The truth is that you are “it”, from key decision maker and strategist to garlic peeler. When people ask me what my position is in my company I laugh - I’m the CEO and the cleaner.
If you decide to start your own business without your finances completely sorted and you can’t afford staff, you are in for a difficult time trying to do everything. Even if you have a business plan that maps out incomings and outgoings, there is always that extra marketing opportunity that you don’t want to miss, or that packaging that you had to buy etc... spend, spend spend. I left my job early on in the planning of the business to throw myself fully into the project - maybe I should’ve been more patient and kept my salary for a bit longer.
Having said that, somebody said to me at the very beginning of my business journey that I should just go for it and borrow £100k from the bank. Thank goodness I didn’t do that. Yes, life would’ve been so much easier, I'd have a budget for machinery and packaging, maybe one or two part-time staff and a salary, but I wouldn’t have known how to spend it as well as I do now. Now, I have proved a concept, I understand which things worked or didn’t work and I know exactly what I need to do next. The only small detail missing is the cash itself.
So, this week has been about focusing on raising finances and boosting my sales. I'm looking after my key customers and revising my business plan so it reflects what I know now to allow me to get to the next stage. I’m off to the bank today and, hopefully, the bank manager will like it and believe that I can make it work. Hopefully I will be able to raise the finances and afford to pay a member of staff and the machinery I need. Feeling positive. I’m not superstitious.
You can find out more about Marcela on the new interactive business website www.inafishbowl.com
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