We know that apprenticeship programmes provide great value to apprentices; they get on-the-job, comprehensive training in the skills they’ll need to succeed and advance their careers. They get daily hands-on experience to improve their trade. And, importantly, apprenticeships give people in these roles the opportunity to earn while they learn.
Apprenticeships also make good business sense. They work towards creating a well-rounded workforce that is adaptable to change and can inspire innovation throughout a business. This National Apprenticeship week, I’m reflecting on the three biggest benefits we’ve seen at Mars in the decades we’ve spent developing our apprenticeship schemes.
The obvious benefit of developing a well-rounded apprenticeship programme is that you can attract a whole cohort of people who may not have found a route into your business otherwise. By creating a programme that appeals to their interests and benefits them in the long run, we’ve seen our business open doors to a wider pool of talent who are ready to learn and grow.
Consider this statistic: last year’s intake of university students will borrow about £45,800 each on average before they graduate. This is a huge burden. In the world we live in, this burden has created a huge gap in the market for those looking to develop employable skills without the debt.
