The St Martin’s Group is delighted to collaborate with City & Guilds and NCFE to release a new report, ‘The Real Costs and Benefits of Apprenticeships’, which explores the true value apprentices can bring to the workplace.

Aiming to dispel common misconceptions over the high costs of apprenticeships, the report shows that apprentices on average offer an early net financial benefit to businesses of at least £2,496 and in some cases significantly more, even during the training period. .

Drawing on research conducted by the Centre of Economics and Business Research, which surveyed more than 1,000 HR decision makers, 98 per cent experienced additional benefits to their business. As well as a solid return on investment and financial gains, apprentices bring benefits to companies including:

• Addressing critical skills shortages
• Providing value for money
• Driving innovation and creativity
• Fostering a sense of community and inclusion
• Increasing diversity
• Boosting productivity levels.

The findings echo input from some of the country’s largest employers, including the NHS, Royal Mail, Network Rail and IBM, bringing positive news for businesses looking to expand headcounts and invest in training for new talent. The report also indicates that apprentices are set to play a key role in helping the UK ‘build back better’ during its recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic.

The full report and recommendations can be found here.

View the event – ‘The Real Costs and Benefits of Apprenticeships: turning recommendations into action to improve apprenticeships for employers and learners’

Following the publication of its report, The St Martin’s Group, in partnership with City & Guilds and NCFE held an event to discuss the key insights from the report and explore how the recommendations could be delivered to drive greater uptake and improvements in apprenticeships for employers and learners alike. 

Chaired by Kirstie Donnelly, MBE, CEO at City & Guilds, the event featured expert representatives from across the sector, including an introduction to the report by Philip Le Feuvre, Chief Strategy Officer NCFE and David Phillips, MD City & Guilds and ILM; and panellists including, David Marsh, Co-Chair of The St Martin’s Group and CEO of Babington; Mike Faulkner, COO IBM UK, Consulting Division; Anna Ambrose, Director of the London Progression Collaboration and Shannon Wilson, a current chartered management degree apprentice with IBM UK.