Apprenticeships on the rise as young people and employers realise the benefits

This year’s National Apprenticeship Week is upon us, and it’s particularly important this year to celebrate the ongoing success of apprenticeships and look to an exciting future for the scheme.

Apprenticeships are changing in England this year, with an apprenticeship levy coming into effect on 6 April, whereby employers who have an annual pay bill of at least £3 million will be required to invest in apprenticeships through a charge of 0.5 per cent against their annual pay bill. While most employers therefore will not be required to pay the levy, all businesses will have greater scope to promote and increase the number of apprenticeships in their workplace.

In addition, the frameworks for the new ‘Trailblazer apprenticeships’ will be updated in August. This will allow employers to be at the centre of how to spend their new funding allocation, and also incorporate end-point assessments for the apprentices – which AAT will be helping to deliver for the accounting trailblazer apprenticeships.

All of this should mean greater opportunities for apprentices of the future. And the good news is, that according to our new study, both individuals and companies are prepared to take it.

This week AAT publishes its new report ‘Apprenticeships: Getting ahead for accelerated ambitions’, revealing that amongst young people considering taking their early steps into employment, the appetite in the short to mid-term for the apprenticeship scheme is strong:

• One in two young people currently studying for A-Levels are considering an apprenticeship as a route into employment. The main reasons for this are that they recognise the ability to start earning money straight away and gaining valuable work experience.

• Young people told us that the careers advice they received was useful (63%) but also mainly had a focus on going to work after university (55%).

• 44% of parents (of 11-21 year olds) have, or will, encourage their child to consider an apprenticeship route.

With people set to spend more years in the workplace over their lifetimes, and AAT having a sizeable proportion of students who wish to change their career, it’s important to recognise that apprenticeship schemes don’t just exist for school leavers. Nearly half of the young workers we spoke to who already hold a degree said they would consider doing an apprenticeship in the future, if the circumstances were right.

Recruiting for the future

As part of the study, we also spoke with recruitment experts who suggested that it was, or would be, just as vital to their firms to bring on apprentices as those who took a different educational or professional route to the workplace:

• More than half of recruitment experts said that apprentices taken on in the last five years had performed better than those starting with a university degree.

• Far more than having a degree or apprenticeship, the most important asset for a candidate to have is the right attitude followed by relevant work experience.

• Over the next five years, three quarters believe more young people will choose alternative routes to university into employment, including apprenticeships. Nearly two thirds of these say this will affect the way they recruit new staff.

AAT has long since appreciated the value of apprenticeships to the UK economy, and we believe the combination of the levy and new trailblazer apprenticeship standards can help employers gain access to a wider talent pool which they can develop and grow for themselves.

Approximately 20 per cent of our student base is currently engaged on an apprenticeship programme; so clearly, we take a very keen interest in this area. High quality apprenticeships help drive up productivity, and ensure British business has the skillsets it needs to compete on a global stage.

Read our full report Apprenticeships: Getting ahead for accelerated ambitions  and you can also find more information about the changes to apprenticeships for 2017.

Mark Farrar is the Chief Executive of AAT.