How much does it cost to train your staff?

For businesses to thrive in today’s economy, the retention and development of existing staff is essential and far more affordable than you may think.

You may find that the recruitment of new talent is expensive, but with the right training plan and on-boarding in place, your employees can become part of your ethos and develop with your company.

The true cost of training comes with employee turnover and low productivity, especially if improper training takes place where staff are carrying out non-related qualifications that don’t challenge,or build relevant skills.

Changes in apprenticeship standards

The introduction of new apprenticeship standards provides a cost-effective way of challenging your existing staff. The standards have been developed with leading companies from each sector,and are designed to fulfil more work-based elements ,with an end-point assessment by an external awarding body.

Just 10% co-investment can create efficient training plans

With a variety of incentives available, the opportunities to upskill and train existing staff ensures that employees can be fulfilled, strive towards internal promotion, and learn new skills. It can be achieved more cost effectively  than most companies think.

If you are a company with less than 50 employees and have a wage bill of less than £3 million, there are plenty of apprenticeships available to support you. Plus, with 90% of the training costs covered by the Government, you're only funding 10% but getting so much more back.

The 10% co-investment means that a qualification costing £27,000 simply costs £2,700. Let's look at the new Customer Service Practitioner Level 2 apprenticeship standard. This costs £4,000 if you are a large employer with a wage bill of more than £3 million. If you are co-investing, this simply costs £400. From this, you can begin to see the added value associated with upskilling employees through apprenticeships and the true cost of training staff.

Added value

Upskilling staff and improving the retention of your workforce can help to bring new initiatives and ideas into your business.

The benefits you could get back include;

• Improved staff performance and productivity
• Increased morale and opportunities to grow within your company
• Shared learning amongst employees and shared best practice

For more advice on upskilling existing employees contact one of our partnerships team or watch our webinar about ‘Understanding how apprenticeships can upskill & grow your workforce’.