The Benefits of Apprenticeships for Employers
Getting your foot on the career ladder can be trying at the best of times. With many employers now looking for degree qualifications for applicants to be considered, an entire pool of talent is often being dismissed automatically.
There is no denying that certain careers require degree-level teaching, and that is entirely understandable and perfectly fine. However, many careers simply require on-the-job training – something which some companies are reluctant to spend time doing, hence why they ask for so much job experience and so many qualifications.
Here at XL Displays, we pride ourselves on recruiting people of all ages and capabilities if we believe they have something to offer our business. This is why we are keen to hire apprentices. Not only does this benefit the apprentice and provide them with an opportunity to develop their skills and get on the career ladder, it also provides us with several benefits as a business.
Increase Staff Retention
By providing an apprentice with on-the-job training, we are able to specifically tailor their skills to our business. This not only means they are trained to do their job in a way that is specific to XL Displays, but it also creates a sense of loyalty for the apprentice.
Consumer Appeal
The National Apprenticeship Service recently released data showing that around 81% of consumers favour companies with an apprenticeship scheme. This easily translates into sales when the PR surrounding the scheme is executed correctly.
Fresh Talent
By default, young people come with fresh eyes and new ideas which is an invaluable trait for any business looking to keep up with a changing landscape. Here at XL, we give many of our new recruits freedom to explore new ideas and ways of doing things. This enables us to keep refreshing our business and our tactics to stay ahead of competitors.
Skills Gap
No matter how hard you try, every business will have a skills gap somewhere. Whether it’s with technology, writing, customer service or production, everyone has their own things they are good at. Hiring apprentices who are fresh out of school will help to fill a skills gap in one department or another.
Our director, Joanne Bass, started out as an apprentice herself which is why – along with all the benefits listed above – she is so passionate about giving young people a chance. Not only this, she is also keen for all of her staff, regardless of age, to gain extra qualifications and training where possible.
Her positive attitude and dedication and support for the National Apprenticeship Scheme has earned XL Displays an award from our partner college, City College Peterborough.
As a business, we regularly get involved and have a presence at events such as careers fairs to raise our profile within the community and to advertise our apprentice vacancies to young people in our city.
Benefits for Apprentices
We currently have nine employees on apprenticeship schemes, ranging from managerial courses for those who are progressing within the company, to entry level courses for new comers.
Apprenticeships allow our staff to get qualifications that they can have for life and use as they forge a career for themselves. It also allows our younger employees who come to us after leaving school to earn while they learn.
Alex Squibb is due to finish his apprenticeship with us this year. He currently works within the customer service team, but after excelling within his position, we have offered him full time employment in our sales department. Alex featured in a previous article about our support for the National Apprenticeship Service.
He said: “For me, further education wasn’t something I really wanted to do. I wanted to go out and make a bit of money, and being 17, the only way I was able to do that was to stay in further education, so the apprenticeship scheme allowed me to one, get my education and two, make a little bit of money.
“I’m thinking of going over to sales soon now I’ve turned 18. It’s nice to be somewhere where you can progress.”
At XL Displays we are experts in exhibition stand design and offer a wide range of display equipment, from portable display stands to bespoke exhibition stands.
We offer a range of hire exhibition stands that are ideal for large format events. They can be completely customised to suit your brand and your marketing message. Exhibition stand hire is a hassle-free solution, making it perfect for brands who want to focus their energy on generating leads rather than their stand. When you invest in a rental display, your dedicated account manager will take care of everything. All you need to do is turn up on the day.
For more information, please see our exhibition stand hire page, or browse our range of Integra® hire kits.
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