In honour of Nationwide Apprenticeship Week, we spoke with Anna Morrison, the founding father of Superb Apprenticeships, a number one organisation within the training sector, working with colleges, schools and companies of all sizes to deal with 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 means of 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 in regards to the energy of apprenticeships. She provides, “The LSC closed, however I needed to proceed working with younger individuals and employers, and proceed to boost consciousness of apprenticeships, offering the data they wanted.” 

After profitable a contract with the Division of Schooling to create a nationwide mannequin of the work she was doing, Superb 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 data and assets round apprenticeships and technical training, freed from cost. We additionally work with employers of all sizes to grasp the advantages of apprenticeships – how they work, and the way they’ll get began.”

Superb Apprenticeships tackles how employers can diversify their apprenticeships programme, and a key objective is to ship better 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 might help different small companies, and what we are able to do to demystify apprenticeships.”

Tackling misconceptions

When beginning out, Anna observed misconceptions round apprenticeships: “Younger individuals didn’t know what the advantages had been, or how apprenticeships labored. They had been at all times spoken about as a final resort, reasonably than a primary selection.”

However occasions 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 because of this, the standard has actually improved.”

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

Nevertheless, challenges stay. Like each enterprise within the nation, Superb 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 keeping with Anna, it’s a unbelievable alternative to herald 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 could be moulded to develop the talents that your small business wants, and due to their contemporary perspective they’ll herald new concepts and options. 

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

Accounting for fulfillment

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

“We’ve labored with them for 10 years, and so they’ve at all times been a very 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 guide system we first applied for funds and invoices, and saves us numerous time.”

What lies forward

As for the speedy future for Superb Apprenticeships, Anna and the group are planning a dwell model of the Genie Programme, which provides webinars and different studying instruments to assist people from organisations perceive complicated social mobility, equality, variety and inclusion points. This can be its first dwell occasion, happening 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 deal with delicate subjects that many draw back from, and encourage them to attain better social affect.”

As for additional down the road, Anna intends to deliver 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 assets, corresponding to this ‘Learn 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 methods to get began, however we are able to change that, and present how unbelievable apprenticeships could be.”