How your business can do more to attract Apprentices

4 Minute Read

In an ever-changing professional working environment it can be hard to attract the skills you need to help your company grow, and with the introduction of so many new routes to work for potential employees, it can be easy to forget you still need to put in the legwork to make your company attractive to these new potential employees.

Shout about how good it is to work for you

Not only should you be communicating your vacancy across social media channels and blogs, you could also  do some GEO targeted, paid advertising. By spending a little on advertising a vacancy – your company could end up hitting the jackpot with the right candidate. When promoting an apprenticeship program or vacancy, you should be clear about what requirements must be met since, setting this out from the start will assist in capturing the data of only truly potential candidates.

A great way to attract the attention of school leavers is to approach your local college or even local sixth form heads, and see if they will be offering any career open evenings that your company can get involved in. Work in partnership with your Apprenticeship training provider and personal tutors to find out what you can offer in regard to further training that they would not necessarily gain as part of the Apprenticeship programme.

Think before you act

Think about where your candidates go to search online for career opportunities and who their influencers are. Once you understand this, you will be clear on your recruitment plan and knowing the influencers will give you a head start to contact them at the source. Getting your brand name and success stories out to their influencers should cause a trickledown effect and your name will hopefully be on the lips of those influencers when the time comes for having those types of conversations.

One final suggestion before you starting posting about this new apprenticeship vacancy have a look at your current team and see if you have anyone that could be upskilled as part of an apprenticeship to fill the skills gap your company has.

Salary will be a deciding factor

Think about where candidates are likely to look and make sure that they see your scheme there. Talk to your local jobcentre about promoting it and visit local colleges to talk about the scheme.

Also, don’t forget local newspapers and jobs boards. Try to think more widely as well. How about getting a feature on the company in the paper? Or offering career advice on the local radio? The more that potential apprentices hear about your company, the more credible they will think it is.

Pay is something that will be set by your company ahead of starting the recruitment process and making the correct choice regarding salaries could impact heavily on the candidates that will apply for the position, don’t go cloak and dagger and be honest about pay from the start. Knowing how much they are expecting with the role will mean those applying for the position are aware of the finical side, this might sound simple, but many apprenticeship adverts withhold data on pay believing this will lead to a better selection of candidates, when in fact will just lead to disappointment for candidates and your company.

Make a lasting impression on young talent

No matter how much effort you recruitment team put in, if your company doesn’t have a solid understanding of the wants and needs that young people looking at apprenticeships are likely to have, you’ll most likely not manage to secure an apprentice.

It’s important to remember, some parents and school students often harbour misconceptions about apprenticeships being some kind of “Secondary option” compared to attending university, so you should be looking to find ways to emphasise the unique benefits of choosing a vocational pathway that doesn’t necessarily require a degree. This too will help make a strong lasting image of your company and their future careers.

Be upfront and honest about each step of the process, how the training will be implemented and who will be their main contact, if they have any questions about the company or their apprenticeship. Knowing that this kind of detailed process is set up and a building support system are in place can be very attractive to potential apprentices.

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