People, apprentices and skills are the key

Apprenticeships are at the heart of the Government’s drive to equip people with the skills that employers need to grow and compete and this research shows that eight in ten managers believe apprentices are vital to their organisation’s expansion plans.

The research also showed that managers hiring apprentices were five times more likely to believe the company would expand rapidly, than those that don’t.

Two thirds (61 per cent) of managers in growing firms felt that hiring the right staff or having employees with the right skills was the most important factor in realising the company’s ambitions.

The new independent research for the Skills Funding Agency found that the right people and skills are ten times more important to businesses when it comes to expansion than access to finance.

National Apprenticeship Week took place on March 14-18, kicking off with an event at London’s Shard that was designed to encourage more businesses to take on apprentices. To mark the start of the week, seven top companies also announced major commitments to apprenticeships, including Starbucks, Prezzo, Fortnum and Mason, Deloitte, Greene King, BT and Addleshaw Goddard.