There are some real business benefits of taking on an apprentice. Offering an apprenticeship can:
- fill your resource gap
- develop skilled staff
- motivate your workforce
- make your organisation more productive and competitive
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What employers say
Case study – Steph's story
Steph spent a year as a Business Administration Apprentice in the Organisational Development Team at the Council, and has just landed a full-time position as an Agreements Assistant in Adult Social Care.
Steph took a pay cut from her job in Boots to take up her apprenticeship. She said: “It was worth it for the work experience and training I received. I had a really supportive manager, Jemma Black, and as I grew in the job I was given more varied tasks and more responsibility.”
Steph also gained an NVQ Level 2 during her year. “If you know what you want to achieve and take advantage of the training on offer, it is a great stepping stone.”
Benefits
Her manager, Jemma, Joint Workforce Development Officer, is enthusiastic about the benefits of employing an apprentice. She said: “We had a part-time post vacant and thought, ‘why not take on a full-time apprentice instead'.”
Jemma spoke to Caroline Bragg, Project Manager 11-19 Youth Training and Development Programmes, about the skills and qualities needed for the role. and they agreed that a suitably qualified apprentice would be ideal.
Jemma said: “We needed someone with five good GCSEs, including English and maths as there was quite a lot of written work and analytical work, and therefore someone who could work towards the Level 2 NVQ in Business Administration, which is the training part of the apprenticeship.”
Steph was the ideal candidate. Jemma said: “The recruitment process was fairly straightforward. We got about a dozen responses and shortlisted four, but Steph's application stood out.”
A good attitude and being flexible
And did it work out? “It exceeded my expectations,” said Jemma. “Steph was very positive from the start. She had a good attitude and was very flexible. She picked up things quickly and used her initiative, juggling work with her course work.
“It was also a positive experience for me. It was great having a young person's fresh ideas and insight. It was also good fun. Steph was very creative and came up with new ways of working. It really made me look at the way I did things and why.”
Jemma said: “I would definitely do it again, and would recommend any manager to consider taking on an apprentice.”
East Sussex County Council