Apprenticeships

5 ways to boost your IT recruitment with Apprenticeships

Thiago Earp

28 July, 2017

UK businesses could gain an additional £18bn revenue from Apprenticeships, Government research reveals.

With over 665,000 individuals already on Apprenticeships since 2015, the UK Government has accelerated its Apprenticeship reforms in England, with new legislation like the Apprenticeship Levy making them an irresistible solution for organisations with inefficient recruitment and training budgets.

Current employers are enjoying the financial and practical benefits of IT Apprenticeships and are also taking advantage of the rewards offered by the Government by doing so. Apprenticeships are helping improve IT training and recruitment strategies for small and large employers – here’s how your business can reap the benefits.

1. Slash your IT recruitment costs

Companies looking for niche IT skills will likely spend a small fortune on recruitment. Firebrand’s free, fast recruitment service means all you need is to send a job description and we’ll source the best candidates for you to interview.

With more young people choosing to get into IT through vocational routes, you’ll have access to a growing pool of future professionals looking for an alternative route into IT. Apprenticeship recruitment will help you employ motivated and passionate professionals, not candidates with irrelevant experience and skills.

2 Fill your skills gaps through personalised programmes

According to the Learning and Skills Council, 83% of apprentice employers say they rely on Apprenticeships to fill their digital skills gap.

Because Firebrand runs over 400 training courses from vendors like Microsoft, CompTIA, EC-Council, Cisco, and many more, our Apprenticeship programmes are fully flexible. This means you can select specific training at any time that suits you and create custom-built programmes that suit you and your apprentices.

To start customising your programmes, get in touch with our experienced team.

3. Cut high turnover

According to the Learning and Skills Council, 4 in 5 apprentice employers say they have crushed turnover rates since taking on apprentices, with a further 88% saying Apprenticeships have led to a more motivated and satisfied workforce.

Plus, apprentices that successfully complete their accelerated programmes can become excellent ambassadors for your business, helping attract future waves of talented staff.

In fact, 76% of apprentice employers polled by the National Apprenticeship Service say they promote their Apprenticeship credentials when pitching for new business or talking about their company.

Need recruitment advice? Get in touch.

4. Upskill current staff

Apprenticeships can be an effective route to specialising existing employees in fields like Infrastructure Support, Cyber Security, Networking, Data Analysis, and Cloud technologies.

By placing existing employees on role-specific Apprenticeships, your business gets new skills without significant financial investment. You’ll get full facilitation support from approved training providers like Firebrand to make the most out of your training.

Need to upskill your staff? Get in touch.

5. Only pay 10% of the training cost

Employers with wage bills of under £3 million now benefit greatly from financial support from the Government.

90% of the cost of Apprenticeship training is covered, meaning you only need to pay the remaining 10% of the full cost of award-winning accelerated training. Plus, if your organisation has less than 50 employees, you won't pay a penny.

UK-based employers with a pay bill of over £3 million must invest 0.5% of it in hiring apprentices through the Apprenticeship Levy. Monthly payments are transferred to a digital Apprenticeship Service account and topped-up by 10% by the Government. From there, funds can be spent on training across a range of employer-led, role-specific programmes, including:

Interested in hiring apprentices?

Get in touch with our experienced team.