Degrees Mean Debt, Right?

I am a great believer in lifetime learning and improvement. - Danny Chaney, Executive Chairman - Blu-3

Future proofing business, retaining good staff, increasing productivity are all things that businesses should want to do to improve their profitability and reputation. One of the best ways to do this is by creating engagement and investment from your staff as embodied by our members Blu-3 and Geason Training.

Graduates are leaving university with an average of £50,800 debt for a degree, two thirds of them will never manage to pay this off due to the high interest rates of up to 6.1% and fixed repayment terms. The poorest have even more debt, on average £57,000, as they take out more loans to fund their course and expenses. The option of an apprenticeship is often touted as a valid alternative, however, there are many jobs or organisations that really want that degree, and initiatives long promoted by the government have meant that some young people feel like by not getting a degree this results in failure.

There are a host of benefits to your businesses with offering high-quality apprenticeships, including; increasing your productivity and competitiveness, staff retention, plugging skills gaps and costeffective training. Offering apprenticeships to disadvantaged young people can also contribute to your social responsibility and improve communities.

blu-3 is a UK leading infrastructure provider championing the industries next generation of talent with new apprenticeships available across the organisation in conjunction with Geason Training. All the more interesting, some of these apprenticeships lead to a degree, allowing students to access higher education and gain an advantage in the workplace, without incurring debt and benefitting from experience gained on the job.

blu-3 started in 2004 as a utilities sub-contractor in London, but their staff-as-family ethos and commitment to staff engagement and training have enabled them to grow into the nationwide fully integrated construction and utility services company they are today. Danny Chaney, Chairman of blu-3, says; “I am a great believer in lifetime learning and improvement, and always make sure that as an organisation we recognise our people’s hard work and success.” Discussing the implications on training for his workforce, he states; “businesses don’t go anywhere without people behind them, pushing them forward. We have found that investing in people’s futures mean that we end up with a more invested staff that we retain for longer. Stability in businesses is key, and that applies to our staff as well.”

The Apprenticeship Levy was introduced by the government in April 2017 with the aim of funding three million apprenticeships in the UK by 2020. It affects all UK employers with a payroll bill in excess of £3m and they forecast an additional £2,970m contributed to the Exchequer in 2019 as a result of the levy. But it can help employers; According to Robert Kilpatrick of apprenticeships and training provider Geason Training; “Levy funds can be used as a contribution towards the cost of an apprenticeship, and employers who prioritise staff training will be able to get back more than they contribute if they provide a sufficient number of apprenticeships.”

It’s not just the government who are recognising the value of on the job training, with high-quality apprenticeships offering paths to a degree, potential first-class employees are seeing it as an attractive alternative. So, is it time to ask whether an apprentice is the way forward for your business?