Support for management key to increasing apprenticeships

Support for management, not subsidies, key to increasing number of apprenticeships, shows study

Management support – not money – is the key to getting more companies to take on apprentices, according to a new study by Competenz, the Industry Training Organisation for the engineering, baking, and food & beverage manufacturing industries.

The study, which looked at skills shortages in the sector and what it would take to increase the number of companies hiring apprentices, showed that the vast majority (75 per cent) of companies in the sectors do not hire apprentices, leaving just 25 per cent to educate newcomers to the trade. While many are unable to because they do not employ tradespeople to train them, there are still a significant number (27 per cent) who are eligible but choose not to, mainly because they lack the skills and resources to take them on.

The study showed that the biggest driver to incentivise companies to take on an apprentice is management support – such as a recruitment service to provide a pool of suitable candidates, help with supervising and online systems to track their training – as opposed to financial incentives or subsidies.

Of the companies able to take on apprentices, offering management services alone increased their likelihood to take them on by 35 per cent, compared to just a further 8 per cent with government subsidies.

Competenz CEO John Blakey said apprenticeships in this sector presented an opportunity to both fill the skills shortage gap and provide long term career pathways for school leavers.

“This study highlighted that there are many small businesses in NZ that could take on apprentices with the right support, something that needs to happen if we are to build a stronger and more productive skills-based economy. Skills convert immediately into increased productivity, which increases profits,” he said.

“Often the reason stated by these businesses for not taking on apprentices is that they feel they don’t always have the people management skills, resources and systems. The response we found was that government subsidies can often be a deterrent because they come with conditions attached, that can be just one issue too many for these companies to take on.”

The study also showed that 14 per cent of those able to take on apprentices were unaware of how the apprenticeship system works, and 11 per cent have unqualified staff who could do an apprenticeship but were unwilling to do so.

“What is clear is that without some sort of intervention, the number entering apprenticeships is likely to remain static, leaving a dedicated few training for the needs of the whole nation,” said Blakey.

“But with the right support, more companies would be likely to take on an apprentice, enriching their own companies and building a more highly skilled, highly productive environment sector-wide.”

ENDS

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