06 March 2019 Blogs
Here’s our quick guide to apprenticeships and where to find out more…
If you’re someone thinking about becoming an apprentice, a family member or an employer, the most important thing to realise is that apprenticeships have changed a lot. So, before you read any further, forget your existing ideas about what apprenticeships are like, and prepare to discover the new opportunities now available.
For a long time, young people and their families have seen universities as the pinnacle of further education, but that’s changing. Fewer young people are choosing to go to university, partly because of higher tuition fees, but also because they realise that a degree is not necessarily a passport to a job.
Apprenticeships, on the other hand, provide a direct path to a career, and better still, you earn while you learn. And those careers are by no means confined to the traditional factory-based jobs that used to be filled by apprentices. You can even do an apprenticeship in management.
High-quality apprenticeship opportunities
There are lots of high quality apprenticeship opportunities available at all levels around the country, in a huge variety of sectors, including aviation engineering, nursing, finance and policing. At Develop Training, we help employers in the country’s vital utilities – that’s gas, electricity, water and energy – to keep Britain running. They can’t do that vital work without highly skilled people, and we are running apprenticeship programmes for big-name employers to help to fill that skills gap. Our successful apprentices are well-qualified and almost always go on to well-paid roles.
Get paid to train
As an apprentice, there are lots of opportunities. Being paid while you go through your training is a big attraction for many young people, and some older ones too because apprenticeships aren’t just for young people.
Receive a recognised qualification
When you complete your apprenticeship, you receive a recognised qualification, which will help you to find work elsewhere if you need to. But, in fact, most apprentices go on to full-time jobs with the employer they trained with.
Classroom and practical-based training
Apprentices get personal support in the company that takes them on as well as guidance from external teachers. Alongside programmes where you learn on the job, you will probably do some classroom and practical training with an approved provider such as Develop Training before you qualify.
Receive paid holidays and student discounts
As an apprentice, you’ll get at least 20 days’ paid holiday a year and you’ll still be entitled to an NUS card entitling you to discounts on everything from rail travel to entertainment.
Find apprenticeship opportunities
The government has launched a new campaign called Blaze A Trail to tell everyone about the opportunities. Watch out for the events and advertisements and take a look at the website https://www.apprenticeships.gov.uk/.
Employer benefits
For employers too, apprenticeships offer significant benefits.
Large employers pay the apprenticeship levy, a kind of tax on their payroll, but they can recoup this by investing it in apprenticeship programmes. It’s been slow to take off, but more employers are now taking it up.
Employing apprentices saves on recruitment costs, and it’s also been shown to deliver a more motivated and loyal workforce, who have been trained to work the way that your company operates. Of course, a loyal, well-motivated and well-trained workforce will deliver better service so as well as saving on up-front employment costs, apprentices also deliver a measurable effect on your bottom line.
Apprenticeship programmes run by Develop Training Ltd
Apprenticeships are clearly good news for apprentices themselves and their employers, and we’re proud to be playing our part in their growing popularity. We’ve been successfully running apprenticeships in leadership & management, gas, water, smart meters and electrics for a number of years with some of the biggest names in the utilities industry. Click here to find out more about all our apprenticeship programmes.
