Employers are hiring apprentices over more experienced staff, Why?

We all know the amazing benefits to the trainee of undertaking an apprenticeship; to name a few, apprentices benefit from being paid to learn, experience the real workplace, learn tangible skills, gain increased industry contacts and job opportunities and upon completion achieve a nationally accredited qualification (if you would like to learn more about the benefits read our blog Is An Apprenticeship A Good Idea For My Child?). However what are the benefits to the host / employer of taking on an apprentice? More and more employers are choosing to hire apprentices, often over more experienced staff so there must be some solid reasons and indeed there are.

Apprentices tend to be more loyal and stay at their host workplaces for longer. By training an apprentice in your business they gain a greater understanding of the company’s long term goals and all the intricate and unique parts that make your business work. This means they are uniquely qualified to stay and continue to contribute to the specific company that trained them once they are fully qualified. Apprentices and trainees also have a much stronger sense of duty and gratitude for the time and energy that has been invested in them by the company. As long as the training has been a positive and supportive experience the apprentice will know that they are valued and their best interests are considered in decision making, this sort of trust and care may be harder for them to find elsewhere.

Effective and appropriate numbers of human resources and talent can make or break a business. It can be hard to manage the correct number of staff as a business changes and grows and apprentices and trainees can be a very good solution to this problem. Apprentices and trainees are able to move between different areas of the business to learn all the different aspects and they are able to be moved to wherever they are most valuable at the time rather than being rigid in their particular skill set and position as other staff might be. There is also the option of hosting short term apprentices and trainees which you can hire to help you through a busy period giving them lots of experience and you the extra help you need without a long term staffing commitment.

Having less experienced team members around the workplace also provides a good push for existing staff to learn how to be better leaders and learn the incredibly important skills of delegation and effective management of team members. Providing an opportunity for your existing staff to upskill and increase their management and leadership skills adds even more value to your team.

Reinvigorate your company with the new energy and ideas from young and eager trainees and apprentices. The positive attitudes and thirst for knowledge and mastery of your craft that trainees can bring is great for the morale of all staff. Seeing the business through the eyes of new employees helps existing staff to see the benefits of their workplace and can also highlight any sticking points allowing the team to become more productive and effective at their jobs.

Financial incentives! An apprentice or trainee is cheaper than fully trained staff and while there will be some added time to teach them new skills there is no reason why they cannot more than pull their weight in the workload. As their skills improve and they near the end of the apprenticeship their wages will slowly increase giving you plenty of time to assess the costs and benefits of offering the person a full time position in your company or wishing them luck on their way. Time and time again studies have shown that employing apprentices is good for the host company’s bottom line and that people prefer to do business with companies that hire trainees as it is seen as an admirable community service and a trust marker of a company with good values.

Finally, you are also providing a service to your industry and community, not something to be taken lightly, it is no surprise that company’s who host apprentices and trainees are held in such high regard. Training the next cohort of tradespeople is a meaningful and fulfilling pursuit on its own and there is an immense amount of personal pride and joy that comes from passing on your skills and mentoring the newest members of your trade. However, perhaps the biggest achievement is in taking part in the training of the next generation of skilled workers. As an industry expert you are ensuring the continuation and high level of expertise of your trade as well as helping to form the next generation of workers to support your country. Without the esteemed time and energy that employers and business owners put into new trainees the next generation might not be able to continue the services  and standard of living that we have come to expect and that would be a great misfortune.

Article from: https://apprenticeshipsqld.com.au/employers-hiring-apprentices/