With National Apprenticeship Week in full swing, this is a great time to think about the skills your business has or doesn't have. Come and talk to our team, because there's loads of support and inspiration that can help you solve your skills and recruitment challenges.
Ensuring your workforce has 'skills for life'
National Apprenticeship Week, which runs from February 10th-16th, is a week-long celebration that shines a light on the positive impact that apprenticeships make to individuals, businesses and the wider economy.
This year’s theme is ‘skills for life’, which encourages everyone - employers, apprentices, training providers, parents/carers, schools, and colleges - to consider how apprenticeships can help develop a career-ready and skilled talent pipeline.
Essentially: If your employees have skills for life, then your business has skills for life.
For employers, National Apprenticeship Week is a great time to think about who they are hiring, what skills they are lacking, and the best way to solve their recruitment and skills challenges. And it's a great time to discover all the support that exists to help them do so.
Whether it's this week, next week or next month that you begin in earnest, come to us and we'll help you take your first, or next, step towards hiring an apprentice.
Our Workforce Skills Team is always primed to help. You can call them on 01494 927130, email at [email protected] or book in a time to chat with them via this online form.
You could also bookmark this page as a reminder of something you want to do!
Skills and recruitment
Of course, apprenticeships won't be right for every business. But what every single business does need to get right is recruitment and skills development. And there's plenty of non-apprenticeship-related support out there too, like Skills Bootcamps. More about those later, but first, back to apprenticeships and the huge benefits they can bring to employers.
If you're into stats, you might like to know that 78% of employers reported improved productivity after hiring an apprentice, according to the Department for Education.
If real-life stories are more your thing, then we have loads of those!
Some inspiration from local businesses
Below are two stories of local businesses that have had brilliant success with apprenticeships, plus there's our podcast with De Soutter Medical where, among other things, they speak passionately about the value of apprenticeships.
Engineering business flies high with apprentices at their heart: Martin-Baker (in above picture) see apprenticeships as a fantastic way to ensure the people who continue to work in your business have the right skill set. Read their story here.
Solstrand's succession plan: 'Hire for attitude, train for skill': Engineering firm Solstrand has shown that being open to new ideas can be a solution to skills shortages and the key to a sustainable business future. Read their story here.
(Podcast) Cutting Edge Manufacturing with De Soutter Medical
Andrew Butchard tells Ercol's Henry Tadros about De Soutter's commitment to innovation, global growth and the rewards of apprenticeships & developing young talent. Listen to the podcast below or on our Spotify and Apple Podcast channels, where you can listen to loads of previous episodes with big names in the local and national business community.
Skills training & recruitment
It's not all about apprenticeships of course - they won't be right for everyone or every business. There are many different ways to ensure you have the right people with the right skills.
Upskill your staff with highly-subsidised Skills Bootcamps
These flexible training courses can help you build a resilient workforce for the future and equip your staff with the skills that you - and they - need. SMEs only pay 10% of the costs.
Online Power Hours
Trying to recruit? This free workshop will help you simplify your recruitment process and find new ways of identifying the right people to join your business.
Demystifying apprenticeships: A free workshop for businesses thinking of taking on an apprentice covering all the different options, the funding and support on offer, and the benefits for all involved.
Hiring people with disabilities is common sense and good for business
Everybody brings different skills and experiences to the workplace, but not everybody gets a fair crack at job opportunities. There's help available for employers who want to hire people from across the diverse range of disabilities that make up the human condition. Learn more about becoming disability confident.
Diversity in apprenticeships
The Apprenticeship Diversity Champions Network (ADCN) is an employer-led network that recognises the benefits of growing a more diverse workforce, both for their organisation and their employees – including their apprentices. They actively support various groups, including:
- people with disabilities and learning difficulties
- members of minority communities
- young people who have been in care
- women in underrepresented sectors
Discover new talent at the Bucks Skills Show - are you booked yet?
Come and meet thousands of students looking for inspiration and lots of adults hungry for a career change at the Bucks Skills Show in Aylesbury on March 5th and 6th. Book your exhibition stand here.
Advertise your vacancies for free!
If you have job vacancies or work experience opportunities, you can post them on the Buckinghamshire Business First website for free and they will automatically be added to the Bucks Skills Hub website - also for free. It's two for the price of none!
Back to National Apprenticeship Week...
You can find all kinds of support and resources on the National Apprenticeship Week website, along with a toolkit for employers to make the most of the week-long activity and a guide to '25 ways to celebrate National Apprenticeship Week'.
Get involved on social media with the hashtag #NAW2025. And if you're doing anything related to apprenticeships, tag us in because we'd love to hear about it!
Do you know how much an apprentice gets paid? Depending on how old the apprentice is and how long they have been an apprentice, there are different minimum wage rates that they must be paid. Join an HMRC webinar on February 13th as they talk about who can be paid the apprentice rate, the common issues employers face, and how to avoid getting things wrong. Also see the minimum wage guidance on the government website for more details.
Our team is ready to support you - get in touch
Contact our Workforce Skills Team with your questions, challenges and opportunities and they'll get straight to work. Call 01494 927130, email [email protected] or book in a time to chat with the team via this online form.
From learning about hiring an apprentice and inspiring the workforce of the future to advice on all aspects of running a business, there is nothing to lose and everything to gain from getting in touch with Buckinghamshire Business First. Because with our team by your side, your team gets even bigger!
Know someone who needs inspiration?
Finally, if you know someone who is looking for careers inspiration, whether that be a full-time job, an apprenticeship, work experience, then send them a link to the Bucks Skills Hub website which is packed full of invaluable career-related information, including guides to different job sectors, case studies on the world of work, how to become more employable, and much more!
And they can also come along to the Bucks Skills Show on March 5th to meet more than 120 exhibitors who will showcase the future of work and training opportunities. Free tickets can be booked here.
