Making the Most of the Apprenticeship Levy

In short, the apprenticeship levy will affect any organisation with a wage bill of over 3 million within the UK. Anything over that will be taxed 0.5% which can only be utilised through apprenticeship training including new intake of apprentices or upskilling current staff on programmes.

The levy is bringing with it the opportunity for the UK to start growing its talent at home- following Brexit, this is something we desperately need, especially within leadership and management roles. HR professionals are already reporting difficulties hiring the right people with the right skills now.

Apprenticeships are a way of growing and shaping an employee from their entry level position all the while gaining a loyal and dedicated member of staff. We saw the national percentage of engaged employees drop to 8% last year from 17% in 2012- the need for excited and dedicated employees has never been so prevalent. A recent poll unearthed that 70% of employees would consider leaving their organisation if the offer came along. Whatever the problem is with retention it doesn’t seem to be getting any better with the current systems and recruitment programmes. But with 71% of apprentices staying with the company they completed their apprenticeship after the training ended this could be the kind of change businesses in the UK need.

However, this is not to say the levy has not brought a number of challenges with it as well:

• • Increased applicant numbers requiring sifting and selection- with the average graduate role attracting on average 83 applications
  • Increasing stress and workload for your recruitment team
  • Retention and cultural fit concerns with an average of 1 in 8 new hires leaving before becoming competent
  • Senior leaders and management time taken away from other tasks with over 1/3 of management time spent managing poor performers
  • Cost incurred- bad hires can cost up to 176% of the annual salary of the position

The issues that arise from the levy are like that of any kind in recruitment- human capital is always one of the less controllable aspects of your business as there are so many factors that are out of your hands. But, with support, this process can become as seamless as all other elements of your business as you regain control of the outcomes.

Getfeedback’s Talent-in-a-box outlines a selection of handpicked assessments tailored for Apprenticeship recruitment- reducing the workload for your team, improving retention rates and giving management their time back.

It is proven that understanding a candidate’s ability and motivations gives you the in-depth insight into each candidate, showing you how they could perform in the role, ultimately reducing the cost and risks.

By combining the Aspects ability assessments as an initial benchmark screening step with the Intrinsic motivation questionnaire you can be one of the strategic organisations benefiting from high performing apprentices.

What next? To find out how we can support your business in your Apprenticeship recruitment efforts email us at info@getfeedback.net or call us on 01491 845 536.