To celebrate #NationalApprenticeshipWeek, we look at some of the positive benefits to hiring apprentices.
Unfettered in their thought process and not tainted by bad practices from previous employment, apprentices can be like a breath of fresh air to a company. That’s certainly been our experience at Energy Management with our latest recruits contributing so much to our operation on a day-to-day basis.
Due to its bespoke nature, energy management is not an industry that you can necessarily prepare for through university qualifications. So, purely from a cost perspective, it does not always make sense to employ a graduate over an apprentice when, in many cases, they might only know as much, or even less, but expect twice the salary as a 16 or 18-year-old. By the time a graduate leaves university, there’s a good chance our apprenticeships will have passed through Institute of Energy Management accredited training courses and been upskilled in other areas of the business.
Another plus side to bringing apprentices on board is that they have no pre-conceptions and are like ‘sponges’ in their willingness to learn. This enables you to mould them into the employee that you want them to be, and align them with your company’s culture. That said, we encourage our apprentices to have a voice and bring their fresh way of looking at things to the table. As the old sports saying goes, if you’re good enough, you’re old enough.
Having apprentices also breeds a culture of loyalty within your organisation. Provided they feel valued members of staff there is a good chance they will grow as the company grows and then share the knowledge they have learnt with the next wave of apprenticeships coming through. This organic approach to development helps to brings consistency in the message that you’re trying to deliver as a company.
Community is a big focus for us at Energy Management and we deliver our apprenticeship scheme in conjunction with the nearby Wiltshire College. Engaging with staff and the students there is important to us as we look to create opportunities for young, local talent to shine.
In short, we value apprentices because they:
* Can be trained and developed to meet the needs of the business
* Bring in new, innovative ideas and a fresh perspective
* Help address the skills gap
* Show loyalty having started at the bottom and work their way up
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