Apprenticeships – Why Hush Acoustics believes in Apprentices

The last two decades have seen a rise & fall in apprenticeships. With government focus shifting towards Further Education and University Studies, the practice saw a decline in later years.

When we were school leavers, some of us decided to further our education and do our degrees at university, and some went straight into work to take up a trade, become an apprentice and gain a qualification whilst earning a living wage.

Over the last 10 years we’ve seen many apprenticeships schemes scrapped due to lack of government funding and support. This was a huge loss for our economy and the process of wealth creation.

The Government quickly recognised the gap in this market. In 2017, a scheme was introduced resulting in the recovery of interest in Apprenticeships.

The Apprenticeship Levy scheme of April 2017 dictated that employers with wage bills of more than £3m pay 0.5 per cent of their payroll into a central pot that is used to fund apprentices. Firms with a smaller payroll pay 10 per cent of the costs to the provider, with the Government paying the remaining 90 per cent. If a company has fewer than 50 employees, the Government funds the entire cost of training 16 to 18-year-old apprentices. And of course, the industry now has…

National Apprenticeship Week

The 5th-9th March 2018 sees National Apprenticeship Week. In honour of this and our own diligent apprentices, we decided to put a few questions to our Managing Director, Rob Crampton, to find out why Hush Acoustics believe in apprentices. What benefits has this ethos held for the company, its staff and the local communities?

Rob, why did you decide to take on Apprentices?

“When I was first appointed Managing Director of Hush Acoustics, I needed to expand my work force but couldn’t afford to go into the market and get the staff I needed. So, the option available to me was to take on an apprentice and train them to the standard that I needed them to be.”

“I had such a good experience with apprentices. It was immediately successful. We brought in an accounts team member (still with the company today, 5 years after bringing her in as an apprentice) and a sales member, who stayed with the company for 3 years before relocating.”

“When I needed to expand my sales force in 2017, I was again looking at apprenticeships. Currently, Hush has two staff members in our internal sales team that are doing very well as apprentices.”

What does an Apprentice bring to the Company over an experienced staff member in the industry?

“Apprentices bring youth, excitement, and a willingness to learn – no preconceptions, no bad habits. They bring ideas, a want to work and a want to build a career.”

How are Apprenticeships good for the local community?

“Even when we don’t look to bring apprentices in, we look to bring in local people. We at Hush Acoustics know it is important to help the local community and the local education system by getting locally-sourced and enthusiastic people into our business. Obviously, giving chances to school-leavers that want to get straight to work is a really good thing too.”

“Apprenticeships are a way of getting access to a keen, young workforce who are willing to put the hours in. Young people who understand the area and community and can see what we are bringing to the area are very important to us.”

How are Apprenticeships good for a Company?

“We have had some great results and we have built careers for the apprentices we brought in. We always look to keep the apprentices on after they have finished their course and make them an integral part of our team.”

“We are not a company to bring people in for a year and then move them on. Abby Wayland is a good example of this. She joined the company over 5 years ago as an apprentice and is now an integral part of my finance and accounts team.”

Would you recommend Apprenticeships to other businesses?

“I always recommend it for other businesses. But you can’t just expect the apprentices to work, fit in and do what you want them to do without the training. If you don’t want to train and invest time into them then the company will not reap the rewards.”

“If a company can invest the time in training and show willing with the young staff members, you can mould them into someone who will benefit and stay loyal to your business for a long time.”

Our thoughts on Apprenticeships:

Taking on apprentices within Hush has been a very valuable experience for all involved. Apprenticeship Schemes continue to deliver excellent results for us (the team) and also for the company’s health.

The Apprentice System is a proven way of getting young people into a career, which is great. More importantly though, when you train an apprentice correctly, you are building a staff member that develops the way you want them to, within the company ethos, who understands the ways you want them to work. This is a major benefit over bringing people into the business that have preconceived ideas from other companies. Training and investment of time is key – but the results are fantastic.

Hush believes in continuing to raise the awareness of apprenticeships all year round, and giving apprentices the time & training they need to get their qualifications and be confident, knowledgeable employees.

If you require further information please visit our contact page.