With many companies now looking to expand as the UK slowly recovers from the recession, many employers are looking to hire apprentices. Apprentices can be of great value to your company, allowing you to train them in a job exactly how you want to.

Apprentices are aged 16 or over and combine working with studying for a work-based qualification – from GCSEs or equivalent up to degree level. The government are now offering many businesses grants to allow them to take on apprentices and to decrease the number of unemployed people in the UK.

To take on an apprentice you will need to ensure that you have experienced staff that they can work with, plenty of job specific skill learning and also allow them to spend part of their week on working towards their study based qualification. An apprenticeship can last between 1-4 years, so it can be ongoing for quite a long time, this should be considered before you agree to take on an apprentice.