New research has found that half of consumers are more likely to hire builders who employ apprentices. A study carried out by One Poll from 2000 home owners across the UK has revealed that 50% of those asked would rather hire builders that employ apprentices.

With National Apprenticeship Week starting today, the results suggest the public support of apprenticeships. The survey also uncovered that two thirds of those home owners asked look more favorably on building firms that are known to offer apprenticeships. With half of those asked saying that they would be more likely to hire companies that train apprentices if that was a deciding factor. The research also found that more than two in five of those home owners asked would recommend a company that offered apprenticeships to friends and family members. Also, the study found that two thirds of the people involved in the study believed that companies should expressly highlight that the train apprentices and encourage the next generation of the trade industry in their marketing material.

In a competitive industry, building companies are all looking for an edge over their competitors. Therefore, the results of this study reinforces that apprentices are good for business in allowing them to gain an advantage over those in their field. Companies who hire and train the next generation in the building sectors presents the companies in a strongly positive light to home owners looking for stronger core values of a company.

The Government is about to implement a new Apprenticeship Levy on larger firms. It is hoped that this action will encourage larger companies to take on more apprentices; especially since this study has revealed that including apprentices amongst the staff is commercially viable for companies, leading to more contracts as well as training future tradespeople. Currently more apprentices are hired by small and medium size companies rather than larger firms.