Constant Power Services - Passing the torch
25 June 2018Apprenticeships are not a new thing but it feels somewhat an untapped area or at least one that doesn’t seem to receive the attention it should. The subject was highlighted only recently by the government with the plans to introduce an apprenticeship levy, which at present affects businesses which have a payroll of over 3 million BUT what if you don’t have this! What If you have never considered an apprenticeship programme within your workplace. How has the baton of knowledge been passed from generation to generation within companies and why do we need to look at opening doors for the young to carry out apprenticeship programmes. Apprenticeships are the gateway to a lifelong career that enables the skills and knowledge to be retained and new blood to bring new ideas and viewpoints to the workplace.
Something new can be learnt every day if you are open to the prospect of learning; Today, according to the department of education there were over 600000 students aged 18+ taking and achieving A levels. This is a huge number of potential new resource to train to become the next big thing and gives employers one of the most desired results. A pool of talent which will have some direct hands-on experience of the workplace, with up to date skills gained from experienced employees rather than a list of exam results which although show academic understanding of a subject it doesn’t always show the person in a working environment.
We should also consider that knowledge can be built up over time and within a company, we can find that one person or maybe more (if you are lucky) that have acquired a fantastic knowledge of the service or product you offer. This isn’t to say just a technical knowledge but a best use, a history of installations and customers with great, good or bad experiences. This person becomes the “guru” whereby all staff young and old seek wisdom and insight into problems that they themselves have not faced but others have and have come out of the other side, problem fixed and another lesson learned.