Growing your future

It's National Apprenticeship Week (6-12^th February) and there are apprentices who are benefiting from the opportunity to learn and earn at the same time.

Attracting good quality staff is always challenging. While the government tell us there are people looking for jobs, it's still hard to find the right match for the vacancies (as we know all too well). Apprenticeships offer a good way to grow your own talent.

There is a government apprenticeship scheme and a host of specialists in matching apprentices and employers. The down side is that it can be an administrative minefield and we've had first-hand experience of that.

As young people must stay in full-time education until they are 18 years old, but not all young people are academically-inclined, apprenticeships offer an excellent alternative for youngsters who thrive with a more hands-on approach.

A flexible approach to apprenticeship

A government-backed apprenticeship funds 95% of the cost of training and, of course, unqualified apprentices are paid a relatively low rate of pay until they achieve their qualification.

Cook & Partners have chosen to fund our own apprentices offering our apprentices all the same advantages – professional training, day release, study leave and internal mentoring – along with a reasonable pay rate for an unqualified member of staff. This allows us to develop our own talent into fully-qualified team members.

Finding good people is tough, there is a real lack of candidates, whether post A-level, graduates or even at more senior levels. There's a saying 'Recruit for attitude, train for skills' – and our apprenticeship reflects that. 

Past it at 50?

There's no age limit on apprenticeships and a 50 year old still has more than 15 years left to work. It's often the time that empty nesters consider retraining or a career change. 

One of the arguments for not investing in apprentices is that you spent a lot of time, effort and money on them and then they leave. Generally, more mature people are less likely to run after the next new shiny job offer and also bring transferable skills, life experience, more understanding of how a business works and loyalty to the equation.

You may even find an early retiree who has discovered that retirement isn't as exciting as they'd expected and would relish returning to the workplace, even if it's part-time, to keep their little grey cells buzzing!