Today marks the first day of National Apprenticeship Week 2018, an initiative aimed at inspiring individuals to become apprentices while also encouraging managers to consider an apprentice when looking at resource needs. As part of this week Barhale will be raising the internal profile of apprenticeships and apprentices within the business.

What is an apprentice?

An apprentice is usually an individual who joins the industry with little or no relevant experience and embarks on an approved apprenticeship course at a college/learning provider which leads to a nationally recognised qualification. In recent years, and to improve the standard of new entrants into the industry, the government has mandated that all new apprentices must be enrolled onto an approved apprenticeship course if the business employs an individual as an ‘apprentice’. Currently, Barhale employs 17 apprentices, in 3 different regions and across 6 different disciplines. It is the business intentions to steadily grow this number, alongside an Apprenticeship Programme that will enhance the learning experience of every apprentice. Look out for more details on our Apprenticeship Programme in Friday’s communication.

What are the benefits of employing an apprentice?

It’s no secret that our industry is heading towards a skills gap that will challenge the future capabilities of many operations. An ageing workforce, combined with average new entrant numbers means that if this was to continue in the same way the industry would have a lack of skilled and qualified workers in the future. Employing apprentices can really help to address this concern. It is a way of futureproofing Barhale so that when other businesses are scrambling around to find specialists we are confident in the capabilities we have internally.  It is a way of growing our own talent. A motivated and engaged apprentice will also bring fresh ideas that may be hard to find in other areas.

The launch of the government’s Apprenticeship Levy in April 2017, which Barhale pay, the creation of the Institute of Apprenticeships, and the ambitious target of 3 million apprentices by 2020 highlights just how keen the government is to raise the number of apprentices. This is a really good time to develop apprentices with so much government focus and support.

Later on this week we will be giving you a taster of our future Apprenticeship Programme offering as well as case studies from current apprentices.

In the meantime, for any further information on apprenticeship please contact:

Colin White, Learning & Development Early Careers Advisor or

Rob Houghton, Head of Learning & Development.

Alternatively you can visit: www.naw2018.co.uk/