Apprentice versus experience

As the Government pushes forward initiatives for employing apprentices, we take a look at the pros and cons of employing an inexperienced workforce.

In society there is a need for businesses to look at employing apprentices. As the fees to go to university increase, young people need to have options. There are some great benefits to businesses recruiting apprentices

• Fill a skills gap. Training them at this stage ensures you have a qualified workforce in the future and can create a loyalty from the apprentices.

• Salaries are much lower and can be cost effective.

• Motivates your workforce and gives them new skills as they train and coach the apprentices.

• Creates a supportive working environment and can increase the company’s reputation.

One of our clients WEC recognised the shortage of qualified and skilled engineers applying for roles during a peak period of their business.

They solved the problem by creating a training academy on site where the apprentices work on live projects and gain a recognised qualification.

Benefits of recruiting experience

• No need for other members of staff to take time away from their job to train.

• The employee will have the life skills to deal with various situations and will be self sufficient.

• ROI for salaries and recruitment cost are quicker.

• No need for micro managing staff.

We believe the key to any business success is down to recruiting the right people.

Recently a client recruited an apprentice but unfortunately there were not enough people in the business to support the 1:1 training and support required. We have recruited for them a more experienced person who already has basic office administration skills.

Another of our clients recruited an apprentice who is now a team leader after working in the business for three years. A great success story, they now recruit a mixture of experienced staff and apprentices.

We believe the success is down to the resources in the business. A business that has a stable and experienced workforce, which is looking to expand and have the resources in place to mentor and support would be an ideal company to recruit an apprentice. However a business that needs the person to “hit the ground running” and produce the ROI quickly should look at recruiting an experienced person.

Laura Hartley
Laura Hartley Recruitment