Hiring an apprentice is a common way to recruit the next generation of specialised staff for many businesses across the Sheffield City Region. Taking on school leavers aged between 16 and 18 and moulding them into model employees can help take a business to the next level, and often results in a long-term stick between the candidate and the employer.
At present there are new government backed schemes in place to incentivise employers to take on an apprentice in the current economic climate, but did you realise you can also do the same with a University graduate?
Graduates often get forgotten about when it comes to apprenticeships due to previously not being eligible, higher salary expectations and lack of funding opportunities, but under new legislation businesses can receive up to £2,000 for each new apprentice they hire aged under 25, and £1,500 per apprentice if they are aged over 25. Graduates can now enrol onto an apprenticeship scheme which can add extra value to an employer.
This new scheme kicked off on 1st August and is running for all new apprenticeship placements enrolled before 31st January 2021.
What are the benefits of hiring a graduate apprentice?
Hiring a graduate apprentice offers the same benefits of hiring a younger apprentice, however with a graduate you are likely to get someone with a bit more experience, more maturity, and a greater ability to learn independently. They will be fresh out of a structured learning environment, which lends itself well to undertaking further on the job learning. They may bring a relevant industry qualification and sector work experience. Enrolling them on to an apprenticeship scheme different to their degree will add further value to the role they are undertaking.
There is just one caveat in order to access this funding: the graduate apprentice cant be enrolled on to a apprenticeship scheme directly linked to what they studied at University, however they can complete a qualification relevant to the job they are going to be doing. For example, an engineering graduate could enrol on an apprenticeship programme such as customer service, marketing, social media, finance etc. This gives the candidate the opportunity to gain a further qualification as well as work experience which all adds value to the employer.
Funded training is also available
By partnering with a graduate recruitment agency, like Glu Recruit, you will be able to access funded training across a wide variety of disciplines to help get your new graduate apprentice up to speed as quickly as possible. We work closely with a number of training providers, who offer a huge range of 95% funded training courses and so with the grant and only having to pay a small contribution towards training, hiring a graduate apprentice has never made more sense.
Next steps
If taking on a graduate apprentice is the next logical step in your recruitment process, the specialist Graduate Recruitment division at Glu Recruit can help.
Contact Charlie Hedges on 0114 321 1873 or email charlie@glurecruit.co.uk for more information.