Five ways your business can benefit from an apprenticeship

By Rebecca Barton, Apprenticeship Operations Specialist at TUI 

Motivate and retain employees 

Apprenticeships are an effective way to retain talented employees who already know the business inside out. According to the Apprenticeships Evaluation 2021, 76% of employers who trained existing employees as apprentices saw an improvement in staff retention. TUI currently have 80 existing staff members on apprenticeships in head office and this has lowered recruitment costs, and helped staff reach their full potential, as they develop skills and knowledge that are directly relevant to their jobs. Invest in your staff and they are much more likely to feel loyal to your business.

Filling skills gaps  

As the demand for data expertise has grown, so too has the gap between the number of people with the technical skills and the increasing number of roles to fill. Even though this continues to be an area of focus for TUI, we’ve developed apprenticeships that have helped to fill this gap. Our apprenticeships in areas such as data analysis, data science, cyber security, and software engineering have attracted new talent, and upskilled existing employees that are working in data roles, without formal qualifications.  

Improves productivity  

Our apprentices are energetic, enthusiastic, and bring new and innovative ideas to all areas of the business. We’ve partnered with the University of Hertfordshire to run the Chartered Management Degree Apprenticeship (CMDA), and we’ve seen huge benefits from the University embedding theoretical knowledge, that apprentices can immediately put into practice in the workplace. We’ve had fantastic feedback from managers across the business who are seeing this instant impact and improvements in productivity.  

Widening access to professions  

Apprenticeships offer an accessible path, when compared to more traditional routes, as people can earn while they learn. This helps businesses attract a broader range of people, from diverse backgrounds. The pandemic has shifted mindsets, with more people looking at their skillsets and realising they either want something different (a total career change), or to upskill in their current role. They may be hoping for better job security, to develop transferable skills, or simply for personal growth. I’ve been a manager for seven years but didn’t have any management qualifications. I wanted to fill this gap that work experience hadn’t given me and have recently become a degree apprentice myself, working towards my CMDA with the University of Hertfordshire.  

Builds a future talent pipeline 

Taking on apprentices allows you to build a talent pipeline of people that know your business inside out, helping to reduce recruitment costs. At TUI, we offer all our apprentices’ permanent full-time positions at the end of their course. On the CMDA, our apprentices rotate around different areas of the business, allowing them to work out what they like, and what they don’t like. This has a positive knock-on effect when they finish their course and go into full-time positions that they know suits them.  

Rebecca works as an Apprenticeship Operations Specialist at TUI; one of the world’s leading tourism groups. Having worked in apprenticeships for 18 years in various assessor and management roles, Rebecca joined TUI in 2020 to manage the apprenticeship programmes for head office, Swansea contact centre and to grow the programmes offered to internal colleagues. Since joining, TUI have introduced ten new apprenticeship programmes to help colleagues develop. TUI partnered with the University of Hertfordshire in 2017, and developed a successful Chartered Management Degree Apprenticeship, which allows apprentices to earn whilst they learn, providing an unrivalled blend of academic theory with real-world knowledge. TUI currently offer 28 different apprenticeship programmes.