Electrical Contracting News (ECN) November 2016 | Page 20

KEY ISSUE

TALENT POOL
Jon Graham of JTL, outlines why now is the time to invest in apprenticeships in your workplace.

T

possibility of earning while they learn with
an apprenticeship.
As the economy gradually recovers
from recession, it’s clear that there are
significant gaps in our workforce that need
filling now – and that apprenticeships are
the best way to fill them. The government
has committed to apprenticeships in
ever growing numbers to redress this,
and with the new Trailblazer funding
model for electrical apprenticeships and
the apprenticeship levy coming in 2017,
it’s clear that apprenticeships are at the
forefront of our sector’s and the wider UK
business agenda for growth.

here has never been a
better time to attract new
blood into the electrical
sector. In the wake
of GCSE and A-Level
results, a significant
number of young people
are making important
decisions about their futures. Some will
have already decided university is not for
them, while others may not achieve the
exam passes they needed to get into the
courses they had hoped to study. Others
will have options available and are seeking
the right advice and guidance before
making the final decision.

A growing talent pool
Tuition fees and student debt too have
made many school leavers think twice
about university being the ‘inevitable’
next step in their education. Despite the
long term repayment model, the idea of
leaving university with what is currently
being estimated as more than £45,000 of
debt is making school leavers (and their
parents or guardians) think far more
deeply about their futures. In particular,
those who are bright but more practically
minded are increasingly attracted to the

Expert support
Make this
your time to
take on new
apprentices,
however
you choose
to proceed
with it.

There really is a compelling business
case for taking on apprentices at this
time. Indeed there’s no better or more
cost effective way to get bright young
people into your workforce than to train
them on the job, with the support of a
professional training company behind
you to make the recruitment, funding and
training process as simple as possible.
That’s where we come in.
JTL was established more than 25 years
ago to serve this sector through the provision
of the highest quality work based learning.
We now work across England and Wales
with more than 6,000 learners and 3,500
employers who know that the apprenticeship
route is the right one for them. Over the
25 years we’ve been established, we
have provided more than 33,000 qualified
apprentices into the workforce. Working
with a national provider of our calibre and
heritage takes out a huge amount of risk and
gives you peace of mind when making such
an important business decision.

Making it easier
You can also be reassured that we will find
you the right apprentice. We know how
busy you are, so our rigorous selection
procedures mean that we can identify the
best match for your specific requirement
and present you with only the most
appropriate candidates for interview. JTL
offers a number of value added benefits
too – not least the support of a dedicated
training officer allocated to each apprentice
and employer who has previously been a
professional tradesperson themselves to
assess their progress. Our apprentices also
benefit from high quality tuition materials
and free toolkits worth around £250. These
are all important factors in explaining why
our pass rates are significantly higher, yearin, year-out, than the national average. 

Expanding our support network
We think it’s time to grow our offering
even more as the requirement for qualified
electricians grows, and we have made
major investments in facilities and
relationships with others in the sector to
make this happen.