As the economy moves into a recovery phase, FSB Northern Ireland and Workplus have formed a partnership to examine ways in which Northern Ireland small businesses can harness the potential of apprenticeships.
Commenting, FSB NI Head of External Affairs, Roger Pollen said:
“The economic impact of coronavirus has caused significant harm to small businesses across Northern Ireland, and it may be some while before we see how much damage has been done to the local economy.
“However, a crisis can also provide the opportunity to generate change at a rate which would have seemed unthinkable in ‘normal times’.
“While all economies experience difficulties at some point, it has been consistently shown that those with the most skilled workforces achieve the greatest success over the long-term. In terms of building talent, apprenticeships are key to unlocking that potential, but they remain somewhat untapped.
“In order to maximise the value of apprenticeships for small business, FSB has teamed up with Richard Kirk of Workplus to examine how we can enable a ‘talent-led recovery’ for the Northern Ireland economy.
“As part of the wider skills agenda, we look forward to engaging with the Department for the Economy and other relevant stakeholders to help us prevail in this objective.”
Commenting on the partnership, Richard Kirk, CEO of Workplus said:
“Northern Ireland is a small business economy and SMEs here make a significant contribution, providing employment right across the region.
“Apprenticeships are essential to enabling people in all age brackets to be equipped with the skills for the jobs of today, and tomorrow – they will play a key role in Northern Ireland’s economic recovery.
“Research has shown an apprentice generates an average £34,000 of economic benefit each year in the UK, and Government receives £21 of return for every £1 it invests. But while the value of apprenticeships may be clearer than ever, small businesses haven’t always been able to access them easily or perhaps felt it wasn’t something they could do.
“I am pleased to partner with FSB to carry out first hand research with their huge membership base, to examine how the apprenticeship system could work even more effectively for small businesses, and to determine some steps we can take that will enable businesses to access this talent pipeline more easily.”