How apprenticeships are helping businesses grow [New Research]

17 March 2016 -

A survey from the Skills Funding Agency found that a quarter of businesses that employ apprentices are growing rapidly compared to just 6% of those that don’t

Matt Scott

Organisations that employ apprentices are more than five times more likely to rapidly expand their business than those that don’t have apprenticeship initiatives. That’s the headline findings of new research from the Skills Funding Agency for National Apprenticeships Week 2016.

The survey of 3,989 employees found that 18% of line managers expect their company to grow rapidly over the coming months rising to 25% for apprentice line managers. For line managers who did not have apprentices, this figure stood at just 6%.

Sue Husband, director of the National Apprenticeship Service, said: “National Apprenticeship Week celebrates apprenticeships and the positive impact they have on individuals, businesses and the wider economy.

“With businesses and young people getting involved in hundreds of events taking place all over the country, it can’t fail to inspire and motivate a whole new generation to get on-board.”

The research also found that 61% of managers in growing firms felt that hiring the right staff or having employees with the right skills was the most important factor in realising the company’s ambitions.

“Young people can ‘get in and go far’ with an apprenticeship at some of Britain’s biggest and brightest companies,” Husband said. “They can gain the skills and knowledge they need to succeed, in some cases up to degree level, while working and earning. We want it to become the norm for young people to consider an apprenticeship as a route to a great career and secure finances in the years ahead.

“With more higher and degree apprenticeships becoming available, young people are able to choose an equally valid route as going to university, aim high and get right to the top.” To help capitalise on the growing popularity of apprenticeships, CMI worked with a number of leading employers to launch the Chartered Manager Degree Apprenticeship, which provides a combination of on the job training and a world-class university education.

CMI chief executive Ann Francke said the new Chartered Manager Degree Apprenticeship could be used by businesses to boost productivity and power the British economy.

“People are being asked to lead without training or support, with ineffective managers draining British productivity,” she said. “The Degree Apprenticeship programme addresses the core issue that a third of managers are rated as ineffective by their teams, a key cause for the UK’s poor performance in productivity.

“The new Chartered Manager Degree Apprenticeship ties together the training offered by educators and employers, with apprentices offered the threefold guarantee of a quality degree, on-the-job experience and a professional pathway for future development.”

And with all the options available to people looking to do an apprenticeship, Husband concluded: “There really has never been a better time to become an apprentice or employ one.”

Visit the degree apprenticeship page or email apprenticeships@managers.org.uk for further information on the Chartered Manager Degree Apprenticeship