More than half (51%) of UK small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) have axed plans to take on apprentices because of the cost-of-living crisis, according to new research unveiled today by Vodafone Business.
Vodafone Business polled over 1,000 SME business leaders across the UK and found of the 60% of firms who have taken on apprentices in the past, a worrying 51% had axed their schemes because of soaring business costs including energy and transport.
The findings have been announced as Vodafone Business today launches a partnership with Multiverse, using funds from Vodafone’s Apprenticeship Levy, to upskill UK SME employees.
Vodafone Business will provide small businesses with £18,000 each to upskill existing employees via a pilot partnership with Multiverse. The scheme will see Vodafone offering SMEs the opportunity to apply for a fully funded place on Multiverse’s Business Transformation Fellowship where UK employees will receive training and accreditation alongside their current roles.
The UK government introduced the apprenticeship levy in 2017. Organisations with a salary bill in excess of £3 million must put 0.5% of their total wage costs into the apprenticeship levy which is uses to fund apprentices or equivalent work-based learning programmes across critical disciplines such as cloud, Cyber, data DevOps, digital marketing, software development, and more.
More work is required to educate SMEs on the options available to them regarding apprenticeships opportunities; as 44% of SMEs were unaware of the various financial support packages available to them via third-party schemes, with the Government and larger businesses helping to pick up the tab to enable small businesses to bring on new staff or provide training opportunities to upskill their workforce, which could help to fill other roles within the business with better trained and more motivated staff.
Better awareness of these schemes could help address some of the challenges Vodafone Business research has unveiled as 21% of SMEs said this level of support would help sway them into taking on an apprentice for their business.
Additional findings in the report also found:
- 20% of SMEs suggested they didn’t know how to go about hiring an apprentice, whilst 21% suggested that they simply couldn’t afford one.
- 48% of those cite higher business running costs due to the cost-of-living crisis as the main barrier, 30% blame the increased energy bills for heating, lighting and running equipment and 21% say increased staff wages are the reason.
Jeremy Duggan, President of Multiverse said: “Ensuring the right digital skills are in place is essential for any business, and apprenticeships schemes are simply the best way to deliver these through applied, on-the-job learning. As SMEs reckon with market forces, Vodafone’s donation will enable small businesses to invest in their people, develop to their full potential and unlock growth, through the creation of these apprenticeship programmes.”
To find out more about this programme and apply for your business register here before 14th February 2023.
