The image of a typical apprentice doing some form of manual labour is fairly well-ingrained in our national psyche and might be one that is slow to alter but more young people than ever are choosing this route into a professional career. “Non-academic” apprenticeships might immediately spring to mind but there is a new generation of Higher Apprenticeships for a new generation that can lead to degree-level qualifications.

A university degree has traditionally been viewed as essential to progress in certain careers and the percentage of graduates in the UK has been rising steadily this century – from 24% in 2002 to 42% in 2017 according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

However, there have been significant changes recently that could see this trend change.

Apprenticeship Levy

There is also now a very real alternative for young people to gain degree-equivalent qualifications (along with highly marketable business skills) without going to university at all and incurring the financial burden of student debt. Instead young people can embark on a Higher Apprenticeship scheme such as a Project Management Apprenticeship without the debt and without the uncertainty of satisfactory employment afterwards.

With the introduction by the UK government of the Apprenticeship Levy, large organisations now have a financial incentive to take on and train young people on a Higher Apprenticeship scheme and many are already doing so. This means there are many more opportunities for young people at the start of their career to become qualified, gain valuable real-world experience, earn money while training and avoid student debt.

The Increasing Burden of Student Debt

The increasing burden of student debt is coupled with new graduates finding it harder and harder to get a job once they are qualified.

Of course, plenty of people would argue that student debt is a price worth paying for the higher lifetime earning potential that you would have as a graduate, but even that trend has been bucked by research conducted for the Sutton Trust which showed that higher apprenticeships can, in fact, lead to greater lifetime earnings than undergraduate degrees from certain universities.

I don’t think anyone would argue that a degree from Oxbridge or any other Russell Group

University would be a sure way to a higher salary but those universities only comprise 24 out of a total of 130 universities in the UK. That leaves over 100 from which graduates have no more certainty of higher lifetime earnings than someone with a Higher Apprenticeship. In fact the Sutton Trust research showed that in some cases those with higher apprenticeships earned £100,000 more in their lifetime than others with degrees from non-Russell Group universities. When looking at average lifetime earnings across all universities higher apprenticeship earnings are the same as for graduates.

What Could The Future Hold?

While it might be premature to talk of schemes like the Project Management Apprenticeships being something of a revolution in the business world they will change the environment surely and steadily as more and more companies look to offset their Apprenticeship Levy by investing in training project managers of the future.

As that change starts to happen, hopefully, there is also a change in perception by the wider business world and young people themselves of how they regard higher apprenticeships compared to degrees. For them to be truly successful, higher apprenticeships must be perceived to be as good as if not better than certain degree qualifications.

There has been a seismic shift in the employment landscape over the last few years. This has also impacted the roles and functions recruitment agencies in such a way that only the best equipped can tap into the brightest pool of candidates for most sectors or industries. To ensure that your recruitment agency is positioned for success in today’s labour landscape, here are four things you should do.

Deploy best practices for recruiting Millennials

From SMEs to multinationals, a greater proportion of the clientele for any recruitment agency will always need new and younger generation of talent. Retaining the old methods of recruitment today, could mean missing out on top talents. In the past, probing interviews and stressful tests were deemed normal in most recruitment circles. However, modern-centric recruitment agencies now place more emphasis on ensuring a pleasurable candidate experience. The company or brand being represented is portrayed in good light as the perfect work place environment, without losing sight of the end goal which is to establish the competency of the individual.

To attract top talents in the millennial generation and those in the generation Z, modern recruitment agencies need to shake up their candidate sourcing process, the interview process, up to the background checks method to ensure a pleasant and user-friendly experience at every level.

Embrace Collaboration and Outsourcing

From recruitment finance to management of online presence, your recruitment agency can get closer to achieving set KPIs by working together with experts in various fields. A recruitment agency with a shabby online presence will most likely be ignored by bright prospects. Similarly, a recruitment agency struggling with finances may be unable to attract new business or launch concurrent recruitment drives.

Put Modern Technology to Good Use

It is common to hear fears about technology taking away jobs in various sectors including the Human Resources sector. However, top recruitment agencies are more concerned with looking for ways to combine technology and human intelligence to ensure better outcomes. Today, it is more cost-effective to hand over high-volume application reviews to artificial intelligence. Such technologies can also be used to provide aid for candidates taking part in a recruitment process (think chatbots).

When you use artificial intelligence to whittle down prospect lists to a manageable number, you can proceed to use human insight to make a decision on the suitability of the remaining candidates.

Use of AI can also come in handy to highlight ideal candidates to be approached for a job, even before the said candidates are out of their current roles.

Ensure GDPR Compliance

The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) came into law this year and mandates companies to better handle individuals’ data. Recruitment agencies are not left out of the equation as gathering data on employees and potential employees is the mainstay of the industry. Regardless of the size of your recruitment agency, improper handling of such data can lead to huge fines. Take the right steps to ensure compliance.

If there is one thing certain in business, it is that your employees are key to success. A happy team of productive staff will help you to generate sales, offer outstanding customer service, and grow into the future. It is not just finding the right people to work for you that is key though – the relationship you have with your workforce is just as important.

What makes a healthy employer/employee relationship so key?

There are many things that a good relationship with your workforce can bring to your business. In general terms, it makes sense as it will make it easier for you to manage them effectively while ensuring that they deliver the best service to your customers.

Here are some other amazing benefits that strong work relations offer:

• Increased productivity – people work harder when they are happy and feel valued. By maintaining a healthy relationship with staff, you will show them that you care about them and their feelings. Do not underestimate how maintaining good relations with staff can boost morale and in turn productivity.

• Greater staff loyalty – if you have a healthy, open relationship with your employees, then they will respect you as a boss. This will also foster greater staff loyalty to your business as they will feel that they owe you the same respect back. Hanging on to experienced, competent staff is key as these are often the people who make you the most money!

• Less conflicts between staff – this may seem a strange one, but a robust relationship between staff and employers can actually help reduce staff arguments. The reason is that good relations with bosses and staff creates a more relaxed environment where people are not walking around in a bad mood, unhappy about what is going on at work.

• Builds trust – another reason that strong relations with staff is so key is the trust that it builds between you. Trust is key and will see staff want to put extra effort in for you and also believe in where you are leading them. It is key for you as a boss as it allows you to delegate with the peace of mind that employees can be trusted to perform.

How to establish trust in staff

The last point about building trust is very important especially for you to feel that your staff can be trusted when on site. You not only need to know that they are fit to work and work in a safe manner but also that they are not doing anything to destroy your trust behind your back. One great way to go about this is to use an on-site drug testing service. Matrix Diagnostics Drug Testing offers this kind of service and will really help improve the relationship you have with the people you employ.

Take time to work on your relationship with staff

As a business owner, it is very important to think about your relations with your whole workforce. This is not only in terms of them trusting in you to lead them but also you being able to feel trust in them when working for you. Hopefully, the above has shown just why this is so important and what amazing benefits it can bring when done right.