This year’s National Apprenticeship Week (NAW) focuses on the theme of ‘Skills for Life’, highlighting the role of apprenticeships in developing talented workforces and building invaluable skills that benefit individuals throughout the whole of their careers.
With its quality EAL-accredited pre-apprenticeship and apprenticeship offering and its overall commitment to investing in the future of young aspiring engineers, adi Group continues to provide a positive example for others in the industry and beyond.
Engineering a better future
Having begun his successful engineering career as an apprentice himself, CEO of adi Group, Alan Lusty, is keen to drive this shift in mindset by continuing to develop and promote the business’s apprenticeship and pre-apprenticeship schemes, as well as educating others.
“We want to inspire other businesses in the field to take necessary steps to really transform the engineering industry for the better, and an important part of this involves acknowledging and advocating the essential role of apprenticeship,” said Alan.
To this end, adi Group built quality apprenticeship schemes designed to promote greater accessibility to those who are considering pursuing an engineering profession, offering access to young individuals who may otherwise have limited opportunities to learn about the field and gain valuable skills.
“Our schemes seek to help budding engineers gain hands-on core skills in the engineering field, with the ultimate purpose of equipping them with the knowledge they’ll need to truly make an impact and progress with their careers.
“Engineering apprenticeships offer a unique opportunity to provide young people with core skills. We still have misconceptions regarding how beneficial apprenticeships are – and though many individuals and businesses in the field have worked hard to provide myth-busting evidence, this is still an issue,” added Alan.
Are we aware of the real value of apprenticeships?
Apprenticeship schemes are one of the most effective paths to follow for those looking to enter the STEM fields, and though they have often been overlooked, recent figures show that more people are now acknowledging their significance, with only 4% of Britons now believing university degrees are better than apprenticeships at preparing young people for the future.
However, statistics prove that university degrees and further education are still the most popular option amongst young people in the UK, meaning that there’s much more that employers can do to highlight the vital role of apprenticeships in providing practical skills that are directly relevant to the profession – as opposed to theoretical knowledge, as is the case with university degrees.
“We believe in investing in the future of young people, and nurturing their talent. We aim to inspire both young individuals and employers to give more focus to apprenticeships, so we can continue to educate and change people’s minds, and make a lasting impact within the industry as a whole.
“Of course, it is also vital to our individual business plans, that we continue to highlight our requirements for the ‘engineers of the future’, specifically in hands-on roles. Without them, these plans will simply not be delivered, nor will our sector grow,” commented Alan.
By changing the way young individuals perceive career opportunities in the engineering sector, adi hopes to foster a more sustainable future for the field, one that invites more women, diversity, and young people into the trade, a matter of urgency as the STEM skills gap continues to widen.
Leading change in the industry
With apprentices being at the core of adi Group’s ‘Engineering a better future’ mantra, adi Group operates with a strong commitment to promote apprenticeships’ overall benefits and their ability to help aspiring young engineers succeed and thrive.
Having been recognised by The 5% Club as a Gold Award winner, adi Group continuously seeks to offer real opportunities for the next generation of engineers through its apprenticeship offering, and pledging to achieve 5% of its workforce in earn and learn positions such as apprenticeships, a goal that the business exceeded in 2022, employing over 40 full-time apprentices.
adi’s approach has already proven to be a success, with various apprentices from a diverse range of backgrounds having gone on to achieve great professional results, both within adi itself and within the wider world of engineering.
Alan hopes that this success will inspire other like-minded businesses to launch similar programmes: “We anticipate more interest in apprenticeships as their benefits become increasingly apparent.
“At adi, we are committed to doing our part, and showing others the way, but it is with the collective efforts of others in the engineering field that we’ll be able to make an even bigger, momentous impact.
“To us, National Apprenticeship Week is an incredible opportunity to make our voice heard and to continue to shine a light on the importance of apprenticeships. We look forward to continuing to be involved in 2023, and in years to come.”
