When it comes to searching for someone to join your business, you want to ensure that you find the perfect person; this is the same when it comes to apprentices!
Sifting through CVs day in day out is incredibly time consuming and tiring; names merge into one and before you know it you’ve viewed 50 CVs and back at the beginning. But what can you do to find the ‘perfect’ apprentice?
Use a learner find service
Typically known as recruitment, a learner find service will do all the work including posting jobs online, contact candidates, booking interviews and much more! 360 Apprenticeships is one of the top learner find service in England, offering a full recruitment service for free. The learner find will help to ease your mind and make take process of hiring that much easier.
Understanding the Apprenticeship market
If you’ve ever noticed the apprenticeship market being incredibly quiet at the beginning of the year, you are not alone. Many candidates who look for apprenticeships are between the ages of 16-24, with a majority of them in the final months of education. Due to this, candidates can’t start an apprenticeship until they leave education in June/July.
Apprentices are also looking for opportunities to build the skills and knowledge within a specific sector. Some may have experience and want to build on that, others are looking for a change of career. COVID has also change the way that candidates think. From rate of pay to when they are most actively looking, the apprenticeship market is changing faster than ever before.
Job Descriptions
One of the best ways to attract the best candidates is to have a well detailed job description. Whether you post the job online yourself or through a learner find service, it’s important to be transparent about the daily duties. Job seekers now also want to understand the benefits your business offers. Do you offer bonuses, regular team events, sick pay? If you do place it on your job advert! This will entice more to apply and attract the right candidates.
Don’t be afraid to take a chance
Have you found/received a CV but unsure if they will be right for the position? Don’t be afraid to give them a chance! It’s always a good idea to speak with the candidate, this way you can confirm if they will be right or not. You don’t need to book a face to face interview; it could just be a 10-minute phone or zoom call. You can’t always get the full picture of someone from a CV, so being able to see/speak with them can help you.
See candidates as soon as possible!
Let’s say you receive a CV from 360 Apprenticeships and you want to see them for an interview; don’t wait to see them or book interviews weeks in advance. This can be detrimental as most candidates are going to be applying for a number of roles. We recommend a maximum of 1 week of time to see candidate(s), as they could be snapped up by another employer in that time.
Keep the application process short
If you are conducting 3/4 interviews, tasks and 2 week trials; it is less likely for an apprentice to carry through or even be interested. You want to find the right person so it’s easy to go the extra mile to ensure that you do. However, many apprentices (as mentioned above) are out for multiple roles, and some employers can offer candidates the job after 1 interview or even on the spot!
This doesn’t mean that you can’t do trials or tasks, but we recommend a trial no longer than 3 days. You have to remember that they are going to be learning the sector, for some it might be their first ever job! So making the journey smooth and inviting will increase your chances of candidates accepting.
Conclusion
It may feel as if finding the right apprentice at this time of year is looking non-existent, but there are steps that you can take to make the search less stressful. From working with learner find services to knowing the current market, understanding the best route for your business will ensure the smoothest journey.
How 360 Apprenticeships can help
if you want to start your search for an apprentice, 360 Apprenticeships can help. We provide a free service from first point of contact to the successful placement of each apprentice. Every apprentice who is successful will only be placed with the best training providers (Graded 1 and/or 2 by Ofsted) so you know that everyone is in safe hands.
You can find out more regarding the apprenticeship scheme on our website. To speak to one of our recruiters directly, you can contact us on:
or email us at [email protected]. You can also find us on social media:
Facebook: 360 Apprenticeships
Instagram: @360apprenticeships
LinkedIn: 360-apprenticeships
Twitter: @360Apprentices