National Apprenticeship Week: The benefits of an apprentice
Posted: Wed 7th Mar 2018
It's National Apprenticeship Week and we're publishing the stories and advice from small business owners who've taken on apprentices.
Next up, Jackson Hopkins from Walmoor Commercial discusses his experience of taking on an apprentice.
How did you come up with the idea for your business and turn that idea into an actual business?
I wanted to be able to utilise my experience in the finance industry to help small businesses get access to the finance they so often struggle to obtain.
I wanted to offer all the same services as a regular broker, with more. For that reason, we expanded into the unsecured market, enabling us to help even more early stage companies.
Why did you decide the time was right to take on an apprentice?
As we got more and more client enquiries, we realised we needed somebody eager and organised who could help us with business administration. This left us with more time to spend with clients.
How did you go about finding your apprentice and recruiting them for the role?
We advertised for our apprentice in the same way we've advertised for other positions, through ThatRecruit.com.
For a very low fee we quickly got a lot of fantastic applications from keen and energetic candidates. The job was filled in less than three days.
What benefits has the apprentice brought to your business?
As well as all round organisation, we've found our apprentice has brought a lot of new ideas to our business. Lots of suggestions for new software and apps that have made our lives much easier!
Do you think the government could do anything to make it easier for small businesses to employ apprentices?
I think that, for a lot of apprenticeships, there could be more of a respected qualification at the end of it.
Apprentices work very hard and in my opinion are often at graduate level by time they qualify.
Apprentices are often associated with bigger businesses. What advice would you give to the founders of small businesses for employing an apprentice?
For new companies, apprenticeships offer the ability to mould staff into very effective team members from very early on. My advice to founders would be, if you find the right candidate don't delay!
Enterprise Nation's National Apprenticeship Week content is supported by ThatRecruit.com.
ThatRecruit.com gives you the tools to source job candidates directly by using a huge network of over 1,200 job boards. If you post an apprenticeship vacancy for your business during March, it will cost just £99 instead of the usual £139. To find out more, call 0844 351 0334 or go here.
Got comments about apprentices? Post your thoughts and experiences below.
Other apprenticeship content:
You might also like…
