New research has revealed that over half of employers and employees in retail businesses are failing to grasp the Apprenticeship Levy, indicating that businesses may have an overall lack of understanding of the opportunity.
According to research from the Alliance Manchester Business School, 50 per cent of employers and 62 per cent of employees are completely unaware of the Apprenticeship.
At least 31 per cent of UK businesses are apprehensive on maintaining quality teams yet are doing little in order to improve staff retention, according to the survey.
Seventy-four per cent of employees said that quality training in this sector is crucial when deciding to leave a job, but 47 per cent of retailers admitted to offering no professional development.
“This survey clearly shows that the limited awareness of the Apprenticeship Levy spans the entire workplace, with employees as well as business decision makers knowing very little about it and therefore the opportunities it offers,” Alliance Manchester Business School programme director Dr David Lowe said.
“On one hand employers are not presenting professional development options to staff while workers are likewise not approaching their employers for the opportunity to complete management programmes because they either don’t know it’s a possibility, or don’t think their company would support it.
“Meanwhile Great Britain is continuing to miss out on the growth opportunity provided by a highly skilled management force.”
The research also revealed that 62 per cent of employers don’t offer external training to staff as they believe the cost is prohibitive.
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