Finding new Talent through Apprenticeships

During the EMEA Member Conference in London, a panel of IT training professionals (Jason Moss, managing director, Zenos; Richard Lambden, operations director, Pearson in Practice; and Tony Hay, learning and technical development manager, Ricoh UK Ltd.) ran a lively and interactive workshop on how to sustain a talented and an appropriately qualified workforce.

The number of students studying for their A levels is down 60 percent and the number studying for a computing degree is down 50 percent compared to five years ago.

More distressing, unemployment for youth 18-24 years old has reached a million.


Big Concerns

With less students opting for IT, higher tuition fees and an aging IT workforce there is a big question as to where will the future IT generation come from.

The government is concerned about the 18-24 year-old group becoming the “lost generation”, leading to a higher dependency on the state, higher unemployment and higher suicide rate.


Are IT Apprenticeships the Answer?

The panel stressed the need to attract, inspire and motivate the young generation to pursue careers in IT and that we need to act now.  By attracting young apprentices who can buddy up with our current skilled IT workforce, a knowledge transfer can take place before IT skilled individuals retire.

Zenos and Pearson are helping by delivering 5,000 IT, Web and telecom apprentices per year, and their research has shown that more than 85 percent of those who have taken an apprenticeship have gained full-time employment.

For the employer, apprenticeships improve the bottom line, enable companies to be more competitive, lead to a more motivated workforce and offer a far more cost effective way of hiring and training skilled staff.

An apprenticeship delivers ‘off the job’ technical training and ‘on the job’ competency work experience.   The training is wholly or partly subsidized by the Skills Funding Agency and open to anyone living in England, over 16 years old and not in full-time education.


Ricoh’s Example

Ricoh recognized that its business was changing moving from product-led to service-led.  This meant that its workforce needed to change in order deliver success.  Previously it had employed mechanical engineers, however in a service-based model, Ricoh needed a new type of workforce.

Ricoh recruited new blood through apprenticeships.  It was keen to maintain its new recruits and wanted to make sure that they didn’t adopt a ‘learn and leave’ culture.   It developed comprehensive progression plans for every employee so that they would stay and feel motivated and challenged.  The program has been a huge success for everyone involved.