This week is National Apprenticeship Week; an annual event organised by the National Apprenticeship Service. According to those organisers the event is ‘designed to celebrate apprenticeships and the positive impact they have on individuals, businesses and the wider economy’. The cynical amongst you may say that the National Apprenticeship Service are hardly likely to provide an unbiased view of apprenticeships and whilst this is indeed the case, it doesn’t mean that what they say isn’t actually true.
In fact, in spite of the possible evidence to the contrary provided by the BBC TV show which has co-opted the title of apprentice, apprentices can and do give a real shot in the arm to small business and the economy in general. For instance, did you know that businesses report an average increase in productivity of £214 a week when they hire apprentices?
Some may find that hard to believe but we at EC-MSP wouldn’t be surprised if it is actually an underestimation, such is our faith in the benefits of apprenticeships. We currently employ our own engineering apprentice and are looking at the possibility of bringing further apprentices on board in the areas of sales and social media, and National Apprenticeship Week provides the perfect opportunity for us to share with you the reasons why we believe apprenticeships are so beneficial.
The Benefits and Advantages of Apprenticeships in IT and Beyond
EC-MSP are firm exponents of the idea that technology is not something to be feared but instead should be embraced and enjoyed, and that is certainly one area in which apprentices can prove so invigorating for a company. Beyond merely the IT sector however, apprentices provide huge benefits to any small business due to their fresh and energetic outlook.
That outlook is one of enthusiasm and a thirst for knowledge and advancement, which is what an apprenticeship scheme offers to the apprentice themselves after all. In turn then, that enthusiasm and vigour is poured into your business’s day-to-day activities and ensures that your apprentice will approach all of the projects which you give them with the utmost effort and determination.
That in of itself is clearly beneficial to any company but there is also another knock-on positive impact in how that effects your existing employees. In the face of this enthusiasm and desire after all, it becomes far more difficult for other employees to become complacent or stale in their posts and the overall productivity of your company enjoys a healthy boost as a result.
When looking at the IT sector specifically too as we touched on earlier, bringing apprentices on board makes even more sound business sense. Youthful apprentices in general, are part of a generation which has grown up with technology and computing as a ubiquitous component of their lives and as such have a natural affinity for IT and the digital world. What that means is that they will be adept at utilising your company’s current IT solutions and will also be more capable of adapting to any future evolutions of software, systems or processes.
All of that then, is why EC-MSP agree with the National Apprenticeship Service in believing that apprentices are the ideal way in which to invest in the future of our own company, our sector and our economy as a whole, and why you should too.
