{"id":11006,"date":"2019-03-04T11:39:55","date_gmt":"2019-03-04T11:39:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.engineernewsnetwork.com\/blog\/?p=11006"},"modified":"2019-03-04T11:39:58","modified_gmt":"2019-03-04T11:39:58","slug":"the-benefits-of-apprenticeships","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.engineernewsnetwork.com\/blog\/the-benefits-of-apprenticeships\/","title":{"rendered":"The benefits of apprenticeships"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

March 4th to 8th, 2019 marks the 12th National Apprenticeship Week (NAW) in the UK. Themed \u2018blazing a trail\u2019, the Department of Education is determined to challenge outdated attitudes towards apprenticeships. Here Jonathan Wilkins highlights the benefits of apprentices for the manufacturing industry<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The UK\u2019s manufacturing sector is thriving. According to the Office of National Statistics (ONS), the sector employs 2.6 million people, accounts for 44% of total exports and represents 70% of business research and development (R&D). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The ONS attributes sustained growth in the sector to better quality, a more skilled workforce, a shift in production from low to high productivity goods, improvement in automation and technology, increased investment in R&D and a more integrated global economy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The skills dilemma<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, the manufacturing sector has a big problem \u2014 a drastic skills shortage of up to 124,000 engineers and technicians with core engineering skills per year. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

As well as employing graduate-level engineers, hiring apprentices is a fantastic way to plug this gap. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Employing an apprentice means that the manufacturer can train the new member of staff to have the exact skills required for their future career. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Manufacturer\u2019s 2018 Annual Report found that 63% of UK CEOs see the potential apprenticeships offer in helping them to grow their workforce while developing the skills the business needs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A celebration of skills<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

National Apprenticeship Week (March 4th to 8th, 2019) is designed to celebrate the impact of apprenticeships on individuals, employers and the economy. This year\u2019s event also coincides with National Careers Week, and on March 8th, with International Women\u2019s Day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Talking about NAW and this year\u2019s theme, the skills minister Anne Milton said: \u201cI want everyone to recognise the change that apprenticeships can bring \u2014 for employers blazing a trail to new markets, for apprentices to new career opportunities and for colleges and training providers raising the skills levels for everyone.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While apprenticeships have traditionally been regarded as the lesser option compared with going to university, apprentices are essential to engineering and manufacturing businesses. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to the EEF, 79% of manufacturers were committed to recruiting engineering apprentices in 2016 and three quarters of manufacturers say all their apprentices stay with the company on completion of their apprenticeship.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At EU Automation, we are also reaping the rewards of apprenticeships. Ashley Hills, an apprentice at EU Automation said, \u201can apprenticeship is a gateway to starting a career. If you have a choice between doing an apprenticeship or doing a degree in the same subject, always choose the apprenticeship. You\u2019ll get to grow with a company and have valuable work experience at the end of your education.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Encouragingly, The Manufacturer\u2019s annual report in 2018 found that its respondents, by a margin of 3 to 1, believe that apprenticeships are finally gaining respect as an alternative to university. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

At the moment, the challenge is that small businesses are finding it hard to make it work for them. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

While encouragingly, over 129,000 people started engineering related apprenticeships across England, Scotland and Wales in 2017 according to Engineering UK, this is not enough to meet the national skills shortage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To tackle our skills shortage, we should take advantage of events like NAW to promote the value of apprentices and the career opportunities they offer. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

As an industry, manufacturers and engineers can help to smash the stereotypes, encouraging more young people to consider engineering roles and importantly, perceive an apprenticeship as a valuable route into those careers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jonathan Wilkins is director at\u00a0 industrial automation parts supplier EU Automation.<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

March 4th to 8th, 2019 marks the 12th National Apprenticeship Week (NAW) in the UK. Themed \u2018blazing a trail\u2019, the Department of Education is determined to challenge outdated attitudes towards apprenticeships. Here Jonathan Wilkins highlights the benefits of apprentices for the manufacturing industry The UK\u2019s manufacturing sector is thriving. According to the Office of National …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":11008,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[2051,50,5740,5741],"class_list":["post-11006","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","","category-process","tag-apprentices","tag-eu-automation","tag-national-apprenticeship-week","tag-skills-gap"],"yoast_head":"\nThe benefits of apprenticeships - Engineer News Network<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"4th to 8th, 2019 marks the 12th National Apprenticeship Week (NAW) in the UK. Themed \u2018blazing a trail\u2019, the Department of Education is determined to challenge outdated attitudes towards apprenticeships. Here Jonathan Wilkins highlights the benefits of apprentices for the manufacturing industry\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.engineernewsnetwork.com\/blog\/the-benefits-of-apprenticeships\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The benefits of apprenticeships - Engineer News Network\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"4th to 8th, 2019 marks the 12th National Apprenticeship Week (NAW) in the UK. Themed \u2018blazing a trail\u2019, the Department of Education is determined to challenge outdated attitudes towards apprenticeships. Here Jonathan Wilkins highlights the benefits of apprentices for the manufacturing industry\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.engineernewsnetwork.com\/blog\/the-benefits-of-apprenticeships\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Engineer News Network\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2019-03-04T11:39:55+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2019-03-04T11:39:58+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.engineernewsnetwork.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/EUA869-image.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2069\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1379\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Estimated reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.engineernewsnetwork.com\\\/blog\\\/the-benefits-of-apprenticeships\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.engineernewsnetwork.com\\\/blog\\\/the-benefits-of-apprenticeships\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.engineernewsnetwork.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/4477342aea8e299c6a21761e513ea8e1\"},\"headline\":\"The benefits of apprenticeships\",\"datePublished\":\"2019-03-04T11:39:55+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2019-03-04T11:39:58+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.engineernewsnetwork.com\\\/blog\\\/the-benefits-of-apprenticeships\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":586,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.engineernewsnetwork.com\\\/blog\\\/the-benefits-of-apprenticeships\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.engineernewsnetwork.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2019\\\/03\\\/EUA869-image.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"apprentices\",\"EU Automation\",\"National Apprenticeship Week\",\"skills gap\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Process\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.engineernewsnetwork.com\\\/blog\\\/the-benefits-of-apprenticeships\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.engineernewsnetwork.com\\\/blog\\\/the-benefits-of-apprenticeships\\\/\",\"name\":\"The benefits of apprenticeships - Engineer News Network\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.engineernewsnetwork.com\\\/blog\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.engineernewsnetwork.com\\\/blog\\\/the-benefits-of-apprenticeships\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.engineernewsnetwork.com\\\/blog\\\/the-benefits-of-apprenticeships\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.engineernewsnetwork.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2019\\\/03\\\/EUA869-image.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2019-03-04T11:39:55+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2019-03-04T11:39:58+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.engineernewsnetwork.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/4477342aea8e299c6a21761e513ea8e1\"},\"description\":\"4th to 8th, 2019 marks the 12th National Apprenticeship Week (NAW) in the UK. Themed \u2018blazing a trail\u2019, the Department of Education is determined to challenge outdated attitudes towards apprenticeships. Here Jonathan Wilkins highlights the benefits of apprentices for the manufacturing industry\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.engineernewsnetwork.com\\\/blog\\\/the-benefits-of-apprenticeships\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.engineernewsnetwork.com\\\/blog\\\/the-benefits-of-apprenticeships\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.engineernewsnetwork.com\\\/blog\\\/the-benefits-of-apprenticeships\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.engineernewsnetwork.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2019\\\/03\\\/EUA869-image.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.engineernewsnetwork.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2019\\\/03\\\/EUA869-image.jpg\",\"width\":2069,\"height\":1379,\"caption\":\"March 4th to 8th, 2019 marks the 12th National Apprenticeship Week (NAW) in the UK. Image: EU Automation\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.engineernewsnetwork.com\\\/blog\\\/the-benefits-of-apprenticeships\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.engineernewsnetwork.com\\\/blog\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"The benefits of apprenticeships\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.engineernewsnetwork.com\\\/blog\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.engineernewsnetwork.com\\\/blog\\\/\",\"name\":\"Engineer News Network\",\"description\":\"The ultimate online news and information resource for today's engineer\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.engineernewsnetwork.com\\\/blog\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.engineernewsnetwork.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/4477342aea8e299c6a21761e513ea8e1\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.engineernewsnetwork.com\\\/blog\\\/author\\\/admin\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"The benefits of apprenticeships - Engineer News Network","description":"4th to 8th, 2019 marks the 12th National Apprenticeship Week (NAW) in the UK. Themed \u2018blazing a trail\u2019, the Department of Education is determined to challenge outdated attitudes towards apprenticeships. Here Jonathan Wilkins highlights the benefits of apprentices for the manufacturing industry","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.engineernewsnetwork.com\/blog\/the-benefits-of-apprenticeships\/","og_locale":"en_GB","og_type":"article","og_title":"The benefits of apprenticeships - Engineer News Network","og_description":"4th to 8th, 2019 marks the 12th National Apprenticeship Week (NAW) in the UK. Themed \u2018blazing a trail\u2019, the Department of Education is determined to challenge outdated attitudes towards apprenticeships. Here Jonathan Wilkins highlights the benefits of apprentices for the manufacturing industry","og_url":"https:\/\/www.engineernewsnetwork.com\/blog\/the-benefits-of-apprenticeships\/","og_site_name":"Engineer News Network","article_published_time":"2019-03-04T11:39:55+00:00","article_modified_time":"2019-03-04T11:39:58+00:00","og_image":[{"width":2069,"height":1379,"url":"https:\/\/www.engineernewsnetwork.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/EUA869-image.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Estimated reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.engineernewsnetwork.com\/blog\/the-benefits-of-apprenticeships\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.engineernewsnetwork.com\/blog\/the-benefits-of-apprenticeships\/"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/www.engineernewsnetwork.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/4477342aea8e299c6a21761e513ea8e1"},"headline":"The benefits of apprenticeships","datePublished":"2019-03-04T11:39:55+00:00","dateModified":"2019-03-04T11:39:58+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.engineernewsnetwork.com\/blog\/the-benefits-of-apprenticeships\/"},"wordCount":586,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.engineernewsnetwork.com\/blog\/the-benefits-of-apprenticeships\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.engineernewsnetwork.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/EUA869-image.jpg","keywords":["apprentices","EU Automation","National Apprenticeship Week","skills gap"],"articleSection":["Process"],"inLanguage":"en-GB"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.engineernewsnetwork.com\/blog\/the-benefits-of-apprenticeships\/","url":"https:\/\/www.engineernewsnetwork.com\/blog\/the-benefits-of-apprenticeships\/","name":"The benefits of apprenticeships - Engineer News Network","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.engineernewsnetwork.com\/blog\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.engineernewsnetwork.com\/blog\/the-benefits-of-apprenticeships\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.engineernewsnetwork.com\/blog\/the-benefits-of-apprenticeships\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.engineernewsnetwork.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/EUA869-image.jpg","datePublished":"2019-03-04T11:39:55+00:00","dateModified":"2019-03-04T11:39:58+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.engineernewsnetwork.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/4477342aea8e299c6a21761e513ea8e1"},"description":"4th to 8th, 2019 marks the 12th National Apprenticeship Week (NAW) in the UK. Themed \u2018blazing a trail\u2019, the Department of Education is determined to challenge outdated attitudes towards apprenticeships. Here Jonathan Wilkins highlights the benefits of apprentices for the manufacturing industry","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.engineernewsnetwork.com\/blog\/the-benefits-of-apprenticeships\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-GB","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.engineernewsnetwork.com\/blog\/the-benefits-of-apprenticeships\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-GB","@id":"https:\/\/www.engineernewsnetwork.com\/blog\/the-benefits-of-apprenticeships\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.engineernewsnetwork.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/EUA869-image.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.engineernewsnetwork.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/EUA869-image.jpg","width":2069,"height":1379,"caption":"March 4th to 8th, 2019 marks the 12th National Apprenticeship Week (NAW) in the UK. Image: EU Automation"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.engineernewsnetwork.com\/blog\/the-benefits-of-apprenticeships\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.engineernewsnetwork.com\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"The benefits of apprenticeships"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.engineernewsnetwork.com\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.engineernewsnetwork.com\/blog\/","name":"Engineer News Network","description":"The ultimate online news and information resource for today's engineer","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.engineernewsnetwork.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-GB"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.engineernewsnetwork.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/4477342aea8e299c6a21761e513ea8e1","name":"admin","url":"https:\/\/www.engineernewsnetwork.com\/blog\/author\/admin\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.engineernewsnetwork.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11006","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.engineernewsnetwork.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.engineernewsnetwork.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.engineernewsnetwork.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.engineernewsnetwork.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11006"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.engineernewsnetwork.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11006\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11010,"href":"https:\/\/www.engineernewsnetwork.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11006\/revisions\/11010"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.engineernewsnetwork.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11008"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.engineernewsnetwork.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11006"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.engineernewsnetwork.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11006"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.engineernewsnetwork.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11006"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}