Apprentice scheme
According to the FSB (Federation of Small Businesses, The Voice July/August 2014), over 70% of UK businesses have yet to engage an apprentice.
We are happy to say that we can no longer be included in this statistic. From March this year we have taken on board a young apprentice who will be working alongside our lead developer.
Nathan is currently working towards a qualification in IT at college 2 days a week and works with us for the remaining 3 days.
Andrew, our lead developer explained, “Ours is a highly specialised sector and anyone coming in needs to have a real passion for their work and a desire to learn.
“We needed someone who already had a basic knowledge of computer systems and software and would be developing their skills further through formal training as well as learning from us.”
The apprenticeship scheme provides an ideal opportunity for us to give a young person a foot on the employment ladder with the intention of integrating them into the business as we grow. Because the initial cost of employing an apprentice is relatively low and there is government funding* to help, it means we can grow our team whilst giving us time to gradually increase our work load to cover the cost.
It does, however require some commitment from all of the team, as Andrew will confirm, “There is a lot of hand holding to start with, but gradually you can start to delegate some of the smaller tasks and build up from there.”
With youth unemployment so high, I would like to think we are doing our bit to help the economy and give a young person the training that will set them up for a lifelong career.
*Apprentice grant of £1,500 towards staff costs when employing an apprentice between the ages of 16 – 24.
Mark Langston
We are happy to say that we can no longer be included in this statistic. From March this year we have taken on board a young apprentice who will be working alongside our lead developer.
Nathan is currently working towards a qualification in IT at college 2 days a week and works with us for the remaining 3 days.
Andrew, our lead developer explained, “Ours is a highly specialised sector and anyone coming in needs to have a real passion for their work and a desire to learn.“We needed someone who already had a basic knowledge of computer systems and software and would be developing their skills further through formal training as well as learning from us.”
The apprenticeship scheme provides an ideal opportunity for us to give a young person a foot on the employment ladder with the intention of integrating them into the business as we grow. Because the initial cost of employing an apprentice is relatively low and there is government funding* to help, it means we can grow our team whilst giving us time to gradually increase our work load to cover the cost.
It does, however require some commitment from all of the team, as Andrew will confirm, “There is a lot of hand holding to start with, but gradually you can start to delegate some of the smaller tasks and build up from there.”
With youth unemployment so high, I would like to think we are doing our bit to help the economy and give a young person the training that will set them up for a lifelong career.
*Apprentice grant of £1,500 towards staff costs when employing an apprentice between the ages of 16 – 24.
Mark Langston
