Eight out of ten employers (76%) said they are willing to make an offer of a full-time job to apprentices, following the completion of their apprenticeship.
Some 87% of respondents said they believed apprenticeships give young adults an advantage when going for jobs over those who haven’t taken that route.
That’s the upbeat message to emerge from a survey by Positive Outcomes, after it quizzed 100 UK employers on the importance of apprenticeships to businesses.
A majority of employers (60%) said they would be prepared to pay a starting salary of anywhere between £14,000 and £18,000 a year to former apprentices.
Kelly Ball, managing director of Positive Outcomes, said: “The survey shows that apprenticeships can be a great way of securing a full-time position, with more than three quarters of employers hiring former apprentices to a permanent job. When you consider the battle that new graduates face to secure a position having completed their degree, an apprentice is in a much better place to secure a long-term role.”
“Also, candidates that have completed apprenticeships with a company are in a position to earn a starting salary significantly higher than the minimum wage. Apprenticeships have long been criticised for paying low wages, but candidates have to remember that they’re being paid to learn, and in return, they’re also gaining an internationally recognised qualification.”
