Less than 1 in 5 companies prepared to take on an apprentice

Chamber welcomes incentives to help small firms take on young learners

On the eve of an expected announcement (Wednesday) by the Prime Minister on how the coalition intends to introduce fresh incentives to help the long term unemployed the voice of business in Suffolk has raised its concern at the latest research on apprenticeships.

A recent report from the British Chambers of Commerce called “Skills for Business: More to Learn?” found that over a half of companies surveyed felt that apprenticeships were ‘not relevant’ to their business or sector. It went on to find that only 15% of companies had planned to take on an apprentice between April 2011 and April 2012, compared with 20% of companies that had taken on an apprentice in the preceding year.

“Businesses do see the benefits of apprenticeships and for many business owners they are a critical way to train up young people and adults that then help grow their firms,” said John Dugmore, the Chief Executive of Suffolk Chamber.

“However, smaller companies often shy away from taking on apprentices with a worry about the initial costs involved, the skill levels of candidates, and the potential risks to their business, particularly at a time when employing people is tough due to worries about the economy,” he added.

The Suffolk Chamber of Commerce has been working with local education providers across the county to develop new ways to bring young people into the workforce including apprenticeship schemes and the Foundation Degree in business leadership.

“For some time we have been telling ministers that small firms must be encouraged to take on apprentices, so we welcomed last week’s ministerial moves to strip away some of the obstacles; replacing them with simpler health and safety constraints, a requirement for all apprentices to be offered English and Maths up to GCSE level and, crucially, a £1500 incentive for  firms employing fewer than 50 employees to take on an apprentice. The government is offering real help to firms and apprentices alike.” John Dugmore added.

Skills for Business: More to learn also found that only a fifth of firms with fewer than 10 employees, and also a fifth of those with fewer than 10-50 employees recruited an apprentice in the last year (April 2010-April 2011). Whereas this rose to over a third of companies with 100-249 employees, and to over a half of companies with more than 250 employees.