Talking during National Apprenticeship Week this week, the corporation’s director of open spaces said new apprentices have had a positive impact on both team dynamics and the bottom line.
A quarter - 24 - of the apprentices employed by the City of London Corporation (CoL) over the first year of the new Apprenticeship Levy system are now working in the corporation’s open space department. Of these 15 are directly employed in a horticultural capacity and nine in customer services, events and administration. Buttery’s department is still interviewing for the last few available places.
"We’re definitely seeing a business benefit in terms of the practical work that they are involved with," Buttery said, adding that existing staff had really taken to a return of a system of training many of them were familiar with in the 1970s and 80s. Many "want to impart their knowledge," he added.
The biggest operational change has been to management teams needing to plan for significant mentorship for the apprentices, as they learn on the job alongside the classroom. They are taking Level 2 RHS qualifications at Capel Manor College in Enfield north London.
Before the Apprenticeship Levy came in last April, CoL was down to just two apprentices, partly because they were waiting for the new system to come in. Previously it would have taken on a maximum of 10 in any one year.
Buttery said CoL is "making good use" of the Government funding but it will put some of its own money into the programme as well.
Buttery added that one advantage of having so many apprentices was having strong candidates who were known to the corporation available when job vacancies arise. It will not be able to employ all 24 at the end of their two years but they may return later in their careers. CoL only has six to 10 vacancies a year but, in common with other green space departments, has an ageing workforce. CoL also employed the apprentices in three tranches: June and July 2017, pre-Christmas and the current last group, which Buttery said had worked really well. He believes training so many apprentices will have a positive impact on the skills deficit in horticulture and help both CoL and other horticultural employers longer-term.
"We’re making a really strong commitment to getting young people into work," he said, adding that the RHS Level 2 qualification is a "really good grounding for people"
Recent research by OCR at the University of Cambridge shows that 75% of apprentice employers say that apprenticeships cut recruitment costs. And 81% of apprentice employers say that apprentices make their businesses more productive.
Last year the government committed to an extra three million apprentices in England by 2020, to be funded through the Apprenticeship Levy. The levy applies to all employers in England who have an annual pay bill above £3m.
CoL met the Government target of taking on 2.3% of its workforce as apprentices.
