According to a British Chambers of Commerce survey, in 2014 27% of employers admitted they hadn’t recruited a young person in the previous 12 months as they didn’t believe they were work-ready. While someone straight out of school will not have the work experience you desire as an employer, they will have other talents that you would find useful; an insight into new technologies and media, as well as how to communicate with their generation of future users of your services or products.
Offering a traineeship is how you can recruit these young people into your business while also addressing the concern of their experience and readiness for a work environment.
Traineeships offer young people aged 16-24 years old the opportunity to gain first-hand experience as to how a business works, the local economy and what is expected from them in a job role, as well as learning other skills including CV writing, interview techniques, communication skills and working as a team. While it will be your responsibility as an employer to provide them with meaningful work experience during their time with you, the additional skills are taught by your chosen training provider, who will also offer English and maths support if required. The training provider will work with you to tailor the objectives in the training and development plan so that it offers maximum benefits to your business as well the learner, moulding them to become a high quality, loyal employee for you in the future.
A traineeship lasts between six weeks and six months; you should ensure that it is a long enough time period for the learner to see real value from their time with you and that they develop new skills. The learners time with you must be structured, offering them engaging activities and the opportunity to manage their own workload. You will need to supply them with a line manager or mentor who they report to and who will support them in their development with constructive feedback. By giving your existing staff these responsibilities you will be demonstrating your faith in them, thereby increasing loyalty and staff retention.
While a traineeship may cost you in terms of training time, there is no financial cost to you as they are not paid a wage and the training provided to them is funded by the government. It is however encouraged that you pay any travel or food costs incurred. At the end of the traineeship, you will have the opportunity to employ the learner as an apprentice, for which you could receive a £1,500 grant from the government. If there are no vacancies in your business, you will give them a constructive exit interview, during which you can offer your advice on the next possible path for them as well as any business connections to help them find another position.
Taking the time to offer a traineeship is a sound future investment in your workforce, as it offers you an excellent way to tap into the younger generation of skilled workers, who may otherwise have slipped through the net purely because they had not had the opportunity to gain experience or confidence in the workplace.
Aspire Training Team is a training provider that works with both young people and employers to place traineeships and apprenticeships. To find out more about offering traineeships in your business, you can contact the Aspire Training Team on 01202 551553 or email info@aspiretrainingteam.co.uk.
