Whilst the business benefits of apprenticeships are recounted in report after report, it is also true that small businesses offer 49% less apprenticeships now then they did before the apprenticeship reforms.
If apprenticeships are so good for business, why the decline? And what impact is this having on sectors with high volumes of SMEs?
In this blog post, SDN Senior Associate, Phil Golding, explores these questions and explains how flexi-job apprenticeships can provide part of the solution to increasing uptake amongst SMEs once again…
Change from frameworks to standards
Most people agree that the change from apprenticeship Frameworks to Standards has driven up the quality of apprenticeship provision.
There is the requirement for six hours of off-the-job training per week, a greater focus on active teaching, more importance on manager engagement and support, as well as the opportunity to tailor a curriculum to suit individual businesses’ needs.
Whilst all of this is great, it does mean businesses need a more in-depth understanding of the apprenticeship ‘product’ and more structure in place to support apprentices than before. Unfortunately, for many small businesses, without the time and resources to facilitate this, it has made apprenticeships confusing and off-putting.
The below results from The St Martin’s Group, The Real Costs and Benefits of Apprenticeships, 2021 show the top five apprenticeship barriers facing businesses.
Why is this a problem?
For each individual small business no longer offering apprenticeship it might not be too big a deal. They are usually busy and can adjust and turn away work. However, for the industry as a whole that is short-staffed, has an ageing workforce, risks losing business to overseas competitors or is looking to grow, it’s a huge problem.
The decline in small business apprenticeships is bad for young people too. The Federation of Small Businesses, Fit for the Future, 2019 report outlined in its key findings that:
- 92% of apprenticeships offered by FSB small firms are held by 16-24-year-olds, significantly higher than the national average of 56% of all apprentices.
What’s all this got to do with flexi-job apprenticeships?
The gov.uk website explains Flexi-Job Apprenticeship Agencies (FJAAs) as organisations that:
- employ the apprentice for the duration of their apprenticeship
- arrange placements with host businesses
But this definition is misleading. It suggests to trade associations, apprenticeship providers and individual businesses that the flexi-job apprenticeship model is only for ‘multi-placement’ apprenticeships, and this is not true.
For example, at Supplytrain CIC, we predominantly use the flexi-job apprenticeship model to encourage and support small businesses to offer an apprenticeship to a young person who will stay with that individual business for the duration of their programme.
What are the business benefits of using the flexi-job apprenticeship model?
If an employer has the time and resources to employ and support an apprentice directly – great – that is what should happen. But the reason small businesses (and large businesses) use Supplytrain to employ their apprentices is because we help them overcome the barriers listed above.
By employing their apprentices directly, we can:
- Identify the right training programme: we aren’t tied to a particular training provider, so we can be impartial and find the model of training they need
- Support training costs: by using our links with Amazon, Morrisons and other large businesses to secure levy transfer
- Cut down administration time: as the legal employer, we pick up 95% of the paperwork to set up the apprenticeship simply and easily
- Support the management of the apprentice: we assign an apprenticeship coordinator to each apprenticeship to support the line manager keep the apprentice on track and provide pastoral support to the apprentice
The model is designed to reduce bureaucracy for small businesses and, ultimately to give employers the confidence to return to offering apprenticeships to young people in high volumes once again.
For further information
- Register of Flexi Job Apprenticeship Agencies
- Flexi Job Apprenticeship Agencies Quality Framework
- Flexi Job Apprenticeship Agency FAQs
- Find out more about engaging with all education opportunities
Please visit www.educationlandscape.org.uk to download free resources and learn more about different opportunities to help you connect with your future talent. Here you will find video case studies, the Education Landscape Guide and Index and a plethora of useful information to help you navigate the education system and find lots of opportunities of how to connect and engage with your future workforce.