Wonderful Apprenticeships unlocks the facility of apprenticeships for small companies

In honour of National Apprenticeship Week, we spoke with Anna Morrison, the founding father of Amazing Apprenticeships, a number one organisation within the training sector, working with colleges, schools and companies of all sizes to sort out misconceptions and promote the advantages of apprenticeships. 

Beginning out

Bucking a household custom of attending college, Anna leapt into the world of labor with a temp job as a school receptionist, earlier than rising by the ranks to take cost of employer-facing work – together with apprenticeships, unemployment help and extra. 

Shifting into a job funded by the Studying and Abilities Council (LSC), Anna labored with coaching suppliers, employers and colleges to speak concerning the energy of apprenticeships. She provides, “The LSC closed, however I needed to proceed working with younger folks and employers, and proceed to lift consciousness of apprenticeships, offering the data they wanted.” 

After successful a contract with the Division of Schooling to create a nationwide mannequin of the work she was doing, Wonderful Apprenticeships was born. Eight years later, it’s grown past all recognition.

Anna explains, “We work with shut to five,000 colleges and schools round England, offering info and sources round apprenticeships and technical training, freed from cost. We additionally work with employers of all sizes to know the advantages of apprenticeships – how they work, and the way they’ll get began.”

Wonderful Apprenticeships tackles how employers can diversify their apprenticeships programme, and a key objective is to ship larger social affect, creating alternatives for deprived teams. She continues, “We’re a small enterprise, so I’ve additionally acquired a eager eye on how we may also help different small companies, and what we are able to do to demystify apprenticeships.”

Tackling misconceptions

When beginning out, Anna seen misconceptions round apprenticeships: “Younger folks didn’t know what the advantages had been, or how apprenticeships labored. They had been all the time spoken about as a final resort, slightly than a primary alternative.”

However instances have modified. She elaborates, “There have been large apprenticeship funding and curriculum reforms. The introduction of apprenticeship requirements means they’re way more rigorous and consequently, the standard has actually improved.”

And the vary of apprenticeships has improved too. Actually, there are actually greater than 600 completely different apprenticeship requirements overlaying job roles from animal coach to seafarer.

Nonetheless, challenges stay. Like each enterprise within the nation, Wonderful Apprenticeships is coping with uncertainty – how will a possible recession affect alternatives: “We’ll proceed to construct consciousness amongst candidates, colleges and employers that apprenticeships are actual jobs, and will even assist spur financial restoration.”

Serving to small companies

So what are the positives of apprenticeships for small companies? In response to Anna, it’s a implausible alternative to usher in new expertise that advantages the enterprise in surprising methods:

“We all know apprenticeships can really feel like a giant funding, each financially and within the time it takes to coach somebody. However the extra you place in, the extra you get out. Apprentices will be moulded to develop the talents that your enterprise wants, and due to their recent perspective they’ll usher in new concepts and options. 

“It will also be unbelievable for group morale – when a complete organisation is shaping and growing an apprentice, their success is much more rewarding for the folks in a enterprise.”

Accounting for achievement

An extended-term person of Xero, Anna tells us the platform was beneficial by her accountant at Keelings & Jones Hunt. She continues:

“We’ve labored with them for 10 years, and so they’ve all the time been a extremely helpful sounding board and supported us as we grew. After they shared a demo of Xero, we knew right away it was the software program for us. It helped us transfer away from the handbook system we first applied for funds and invoices, and saves us a number of time.”

What lies forward

As for the instant future for Wonderful Apprenticeships, Anna and the group are planning a dwell model of the Genie Programme, which gives webinars and different studying instruments to assist people from organisations perceive complicated social mobility, equality, variety and inclusion points. This will likely be its first live event, going down in February within the unbelievable Foundling Museum in London. 

Anna tells us: “We all know not everybody can decide to 12 months of studying, so this occasion will provide a day of workshops and panel discussions to assist employers sort out delicate matters that many shrink back from, and encourage them to realize larger social affect.”

As for additional down the road, Anna intends to convey extra apprentices into her personal enterprise. “We’re recruiting over the approaching months, and can lead by instance,” she explains.

Lastly, the group will proceed creating sources, corresponding to this ‘How to recruit your first apprentice’ information for employers, to assist companies recruit and embrace apprenticeships.

Anna concludes: “So many companies nonetheless don’t know easy methods to get began, however we are able to change that, and present how implausible apprenticeships will be.”