The office for National Statistics (ONS), together with The Tech Partnership has both come to the agreement that more importantly than ever before, business in all sectors all over the UK need to accept tech apprenticeships. This is because such embrace is needed for an efficient, effectual business growth. Big companies in the UK like British Airways, Halford, Boots, Greene King, among others, agreed to create 23,000 apprenticeship jobs as a result of the government’s National Apprenticeship Week.
Facts and Numbers
A recent study has shown that over 134,000 new tech specialists are required by businesses yearly. The study also shows that of this number, half are required in junior findings. There was a recorded six percent rise in those in tech specialist field in 2014. This puts the estimated number of people working in the said field at about 1.3 million. The study further revealed that 42 percent of business in all fields admitted to the recent difficulty in getting tech specialists.
According to the director of strategy at Tech Partnership, Margaret Sambell, one of the ways to pump new life into tech careers by business owners is by employing graduates. In this time and age, there’s an even greater need to embrace this apprenticeships in a bid to locate rich tech talents and develop potentials.
Businesses in the UK need to work together to be able to meet the demand for these tech apprentices. Undoubtedly more businesses have begun to adopt these apprenticeships but it is only when it is done in unison, that it can positively affect the digital future of Britain.
With their increasing importance, it is now easy to see more companies admit that they are now twice more likely to offer a tech apprenticeship than they ever did in the past. This is also reflected in the number of applicants for these tech apprenticeships. Over the past three years, there has been a remarkable increase in these apprenticeships that on average, there are now about 14 people apply for a single vacancy, as against 9 applicants gotten in previous years.
Offering Tech Partnership
In the UK, firms that are actively involved in offering tech apprenticeships include and are in the Tech Partnership include; Google, Microsoft, BT, IBM, O2, Accenture, and Samsung. Those that are non-tech partners include; Jaguar Land Rover, Save the Children, Asda, Royal Mail, BBC, Network Rail, and Lloyds.
Jenny Taylor, IBM UK apprenticeship manager, agrees that the Tech Partnership programme is a good way to bring contacts, skills, and experience together and develop them in such a way that it will be suitable for today’s business environment. Similarly, IT emerging talent manager at Lloyds, Damian Jacobs, continued by stating that these tech apprenticeships assists by helping people discover their hidden talents and zeal.
To sum it all up, Sambell suggests that it would be best if UK businesses are able to utilize effective tools and methods to actualize success in apprentices and also in employees. With the Tech Partnership, more and more business owners have been contributing to boosting confidence in these apprentices.