The Importance of Traineeships

Traineeships have been around now since 2014 and are playing a pivotal part in supporting employers increase their workforce for the future, bringing in young individuals that need reassurance and mentoring to grow their talent. Qube learning have been delivering Traineeships since August 2014 with a small provision growing year on year, and have now developed nationwide relationships with large and small employers who are seeing the benefits and results of our programme.

Traineeships are extremely important to the development of a young person’s career and their personal progression. The Traineeship programme includes a work placement, work preparation training, English and maths tuition, on the job training with the employer and under some circumstances a vocational ‘taster.’ The programme is aimed at those who aren’t quite work-ready but are motivated by the prospect of work. At Qube Learning, we’ve seen many students benefit from enrolling onto a Traineeship.

A key aspect of Traineeships is they allow young people to ‘try before they buy’ whilst training in an area of their choice, gaining valuable practical work experience and increasing self-confidence. This allows them to work out, at their own pace, if it’s the correct career. It also provides assurance that if it isn’t what they had hoped for, they can walk away with a reference and skills they would not have had the opportunity to develop without such programmes being available.

The same is true for employers – it enables businesses to build a rapport with potential employees and make sure they adopt their values. Many companies we work with find that there is a real, measurable return on investment by working with a Trainee. Our data for the most recent academic year illustrates that an outstanding 85% of Trainees that stay on programme and complete their work placement, progress onto a positive destination such as full-time employment or an Apprenticeship.

Since the Levy was introduced in April 2017, our data shows a surge in interest in the Traineeship programme from leading names across the Retail, Hospitality, Medical and Distribution sectors. They now see the huge advantages of the training that allows them to recruit their future workforce and give them adequate training and guidance.

This interest has also spread across many schools and sixth forms, which is a positive step and gives people the opportunity to check what other routes are available to them aside from A Levels and degrees.

But it’s not just the Levy size employers that see the reward of Traineeships, but also a great way for SME’s and smaller local businesses to find the next future talent. For smaller scale businesses, a Traineeship is outlined as a five-year career plan giving added investment to both employer and trainee. Our model works with pathways many employers have in place and we have had huge success training new undiscovered talent who have left school with no qualifications and who are now in full time careers.

A Traineeship can also be the first step to an Apprenticeship and possibly a Degree Apprenticeship, but this isn’t always right for everyone and programmes should be tailored to meet the Trainee and employer needs to maximise potential. The programme provides opportunities for people aged 16-24 and the positive outcomes show how it can be lifechanging for those who are unsure of their career path.

Joe Crossley, CEO at Qube Learning