Apprenticeships and diversity

Organisations are increasingly recognising the crucial business case for improving the level of diversity and inclusion within their organisation. However, using repetitive recruitment strategies and practices may be acting as a barrier to reaching applicants from diverse backgrounds. Many employers are still using recruitment channels which result in hiring a relatively homogenous pool of candidates, a recent report shows.

This challenge can be overcome by offering an apprenticeship programme, opening new channels to more diverse talent. However, one of the biggest myths about apprenticeships is that they are only available to young people leaving school. This misconception has caused many businesses to underestimate the potential of apprenticeship programmes to not only attract new talent of different ages and skills, but also upskill their current staff at different seniority levels.

However, in reality, around three quarters of apprentices in England are aged 19 and over, and the latest government statistics show that 47% of people starting an apprenticeship were over 25. Whether it is stay-at-home parents looking to re-enter the workforce, economically inactive people or recent graduates, an apprenticeship can create an opportunity for those candidates who may have never applied for a role due to their perceived lack of relevant experience and qualifications, regardless of their age.

There’s no doubt that investing in diversifying the workforce will not only help build business resilience, but also support with staff retention. By providing staff with the opportunity to upskill and train for a promotion, or to transfer to other areas of the business they feel passionate about, businesses can demonstrate a strong commitment to the workforce’s personal and career development, fostering their self-esteem and motivation.

Can I tailor an apprenticeship?

An apprenticeship programme can be tailored to specific business needs. It could be designed to focus on attracting early talent, and support more experienced members of the workforce whilst addressing any critical skill gaps.

To incorporate apprenticeship programmes into your business effectively, a streamlined approach is key. Businesses should take the time to research and collect relevant data on the current attributes of the workforce. This will be helpful for assessing the areas that need most attention and setting a threshold for the future.

Data on age, gender, ethnicity, top skills, and the positions most hard to fill will help business leaders to identify areas of strengths and weaknesses within the organisation, along with the skills that need to be enhanced. Once this data has been analysed, apprenticeship programmes can be tailored to fill the identified gaps, not only to create a more diverse and skilled workforce, but also to build steppingstones from one programme to another if needed.

Additionally, it is vital to take note of any areas of the business where external recruitment has stalled, and critical skill gaps are continuing to show. This is especially true if the recruitment drive was needed to help the business transition to new ways of working brought about by new technology and legislation changes.

As an SME or a startup, how do I prioritise apprenticeships?

Business leaders of relatively smaller businesses should not feel discouraged. Although financial capacity may be limited for an entire training and development department, they can still make the most of apprenticeships. For them, finding the right external training provider and designing the most cost effective and impactful apprenticeship programmes is key to help find the right talent. These businesses can also leverage the benefits of the apprenticeship funding, to fund apprenticeship training within businesses. 

The resources available to businesses are expanding, and by prioritising, strategic thinking, and benchmarking to identify key gaps, while working with the right apprenticeship partner(s) to create engaging schemes, they will be able to level with their larger competitors for key talent.

Final thoughts

Apprenticeships are often misconceived to be only for the younger population. However, they are in fact a strong tool to diversify the workforce, and employ candidates of all ages, all levels and skill sets. It is also a great way to help people re-enter the workforce. Apprenticeships can be tailored according to business and recruitment needs. With the right training provider, small and medium size businesses can also incorporate apprenticeships in a cost-effective and impactful way.