Businesses are always looking for ways to improve their bottom line, increase productivity, and stay ahead of the competition.

One sometimes overlooked strategy is investing in apprenticeships, writes Tatiana Ameri of Gloucestershire College.

While it may seem like a cost, rather than an investment, the benefits of taking on an apprentice far outweigh any initial outlay. 

In this article, we’ll explore the financial, operational, and talent-related advantages that come with hiring an apprentice. 

Financial Benefits of Apprenticeships 

Government Incentives

The UK government offers various incentives to encourage businesses to take on apprentices. 

Employers can receive government funding to cover a significant portion of apprenticeship training costs. The amount depends on factors such as the size of the business, the age of an apprentices and whether the company pays the apprenticeship levy. 

National Insurance Contributions (NICs) Relief

Employers are exempt from paying Class 1 National Insurance Contributions for apprentices under 25, provided they earn less than £967 per week and are on an approved UK government apprenticeship standard.

With the recent announcement of an increase in employer National Insurance contributions from 13.8 per cent to 15 per cent, effective from April 2025, apprenticeships present a compelling option for your recruitment and staff development strategy. 

Reduced Recruitment Costs

Investing in apprenticeships can significantly reduce recruitment costs over time. Traditional hiring processes in the UK can be expensive; for instance, the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) reported that the median cost of recruiting senior managers is £3,000, while other employees cost around £1,500.

Apprenticeships offer a cost-effective alternative, thanks to government funding contributions towards training costs. Additionally, training providers often assist with various aspects of the apprenticeship process.

For example, at Gloucestershire College, we support employers by managing the complexities of the apprenticeship admin, including apprentice recruitment, without any charges. 

Operational Advantages 

Improved Productivity and Business Processes

As apprentices learn and grow, they can help improve existing business processes, making them more efficient and effective. 

New Skills and Knowledge

Apprenticeships provide a chance for employees to acquire new skills and the latest industry knowledge that can benefit the entire organisation. 

Better Employee Engagement

By investing in an apprentice's development, you're showing your existing staff that their growth and well-being are valued. 

Hear what our employer-partners say about the benefits of apprenticeships: Play Video

Talent-Related Benefits 

Attracting Top Talent

Businesses who offer apprenticeship programmes become more attractive to potential employees who value opportunities for growth and development. 

Increased Employee Retention

By investing in an apprentice's success, you're showing your existing staff that their hard work is valued, leading to increased job satisfaction and reduced turnover rates. 

Future Leadership Development

Apprenticeships provide a pipeline of skilled, motivated employees who can become future leaders within your organisation. 

At Gloucestershire College, we don’t just talk about the benefits of apprenticeships – we live by them. We’re proud to invest in our own staff through apprenticeship training and continuous upskilling.

One inspiring example is Sarah Scrivens, who began her career with us as an apprentice and has now progressed to HR Partner. 

Read Sarah's full story

Conclusion 

While bringing on an apprentice may come with upfront costs, the investment pays dividends by developing skilled, loyal employees who contribute to productivity, reduce turnover costs, and support the company’s competitive edge. 

In the current economic climate, investing in apprenticeships is a strategic choice that not only boosts business performance but also fosters a culture of learning and growth that benefits both employees and the organisation as a whole. 

So why not explore the return on investment of apprenticeships today? 

Speak with our expert Employer Training & Apprenticeships team to find out how apprenticeships can support your business goals at employer.training@gloscol.ac.uk or call 0345 155 2020.

Dame Clare Marchant, the relatively new vice chancellor of the University of Gloucestershire is a tough cookie.

She needs to be as we see over 40 per cent of our universities struggling with big deficits.

Gloucestershire has a small deficit, but a strong net inflow of cash.

However, the going is very tough.

The university’s new City campus- developed from the iconic former Debenhams building in the centre of Gloucester- started as a £40 million project with the final costs £75 million.

Clare has a professional pedigree that really does fit the role commercially. She previously headed up UCAS (Universities and Colleges Admissions Service) in Cheltenham and had also been the chief executive of Worcestershire County Council.

She is very open and refreshingly honest about her university challenge since being appointed two years ago.

“For the first time, universities are waking up to the fact the commercial world is tough and their whole survival depends on having the right courses for the right …

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“Family businesses have been walking a tightrope for years, and the budget (November 2025) will squeeze margins further according to Amy Leivers.

“It unfortunately puts more pressure on SMEs and family businesses.

Leivers, who is deputy managing director and head of commercial property at Gloucestershire-headquartered WSP Solicitors, said the freezing of thresholds on employer National Insurance contributions, and changes to corporation tax allowances will leave businesses of all shapes and sizes facing higher bills.

This comes on top of Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ announcement in her previous Budget of an increase to the minimum and national living wages.

Although mandatory wage increases are well intended, they come on the back of tough decisions made last year and will squeeze margins further, said Leivers.

“Family businesses are concerned about their future stability – many have been walking a tightrope for a number of years against the backdrop of a stagnating economy and cost-of-living crisis.

“These businesses are now having to make tough decisions around restructuring, staffing, investment and innovation.

“As a result, our own research on 200 Gloucestershire-based family firms shows businesses are already pausing and cancelling plans to expand, others are suggesting earlier exits, and some, including 24 per cent of the business owners, managing directors and chief executives are looking to leave the UK all together - taking with them the backbone of country’s entrepreneurialism and innovation.

“There are reports of an estimated 142,000 millionaires expected to leave the country in 2025, our research found 40 per cent are considering moving their business overseas.”

WSP Solicitors has offices in Stroud and Gloucester.

In the aftermath of yesterday’s Budget, one question cuts through the headlines: can Britain get its economy growing again?

According to University of Gloucestershire’s Professor Malcolm Prowle, the answer is ‘no’ - not without confronting deeper structural, political and societal barriers.

Speaking at a public lecture Prowle warned that: “No Budget, however ambitious, can deliver sustainable growth on its own”.

Speaking to students, business owners and members of the public, Prowle reminded the audience that the UK’s stagnation predates the financial crisis.

Before 2008, GDP growth typically hovered around two per cent - the level needed to sustain public services and living standards.

Since then, productivity has stalled, real wages have flatlined, and the effects are clear: strained services, widening regional inequalities and long-term wage stagnation.

Prowle argued that the biggest obstacles to growth lie beyond any single fiscal event.

Alongside global pressures such as geopolitical instability and energy shocks, the UK’s “dysfunctional government”, policy discontinuity, over-centralisation and rapid ministerial turnover have created a damaging “stop–start” pattern that undermines long-term planning and investment.

He also argued that public attitudes also present a challenge. Despite concerns about living standards, Prowle noted that “most adults have made little or no change” to their behaviours, even though consumption habits drive environmental and economic outcomes

This resistance, he said, complicates any government’s attempt at meaningful reform.

Crucially, he stressed that sustainable growth cannot be separated from climate policy. Climate change, he argued, will place “downward pressure on economic growth” through the mounting costs of extreme weather, disrupted supply chains and infrastructure vulnerability.

With mitigation and adaptation likely to cost tens of billions each year, Powle contends that the lack of long-term climate investment in successive Budgets is now a core economic risk.

However, despite the challenges, Professor Prowle identified opportunities.

The UK’s service-based economy, growing green innovation sector and often-overlooked SMEs all have strong potential - but only if supported by long-term strategic investment, innovation and leadership rather than short-term fixes.

As the Budget sets the tone for the year ahead, Prowle’s message is clear: growth will not return through tax changes or spending announcements alone. Only by tackling structural barriers at their root can the UK restore economic optimism.

• Prowle has authored more than 100 publications, including 10 books. He has also delivered talks for the Prime Minster’s Policy Unit and the Economics Research Council. He is a professor of performance management withing the University’s School of Business, Computing and Social Sciences.

For the last 30 years Phil Smith has been a leading voice for business in the South West.

He is now retiring as managing director of Business West, the South West’s leading business representative organisation.

Phil, 63, has spent 30 years in senior leadership positions with Business West and has been managing director since 2005.

What has he learned about the attraction of business to develop in the region?

“I think the wonderful environment in the South West and the quality of life here makes it a great place to live and work.

“It seems to me that companies are happy to do something extra for their employees as well as just making money.

“For instance, we have the largest concentration of BCorp companies in the Uk , which I think illustrates the kind of attitude many companies here have that does really differentiate them in their communities.”

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The 2025 Budget will take place on 26 November, considerably later than originally envisaged, suggesting that more time was needed to pull together plans and proposals. There is little doubt, therefore, that we can expect a Budget packed with changes and possibly a few surprises.

The Budget comes on the back of another low-growth year although the economy has remained stubbornly just short of an official recession.

We are seeing a lot of optimism from the business community about prospects for the economy. However, it is clear that the government badly needs to either raise taxes, cut costs, or more likely a combination of both.

As ever, there has been a considerable amount of speculation in the past few weeks, and we have pulled together the main areas where we could see changes.

Income Tax and National Insurance

The obvious area is a continued freeze on the personal allowances and rate thresholds. The current freeze is due to end in 2028 but is likely to be extended to 2030. This “fiscal…

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Apprenticeships have come a long way, but many businesses still hold assumptions about how they work.

At Gloucestershire College, the employer training and apprenticeships team supports more than a thousand local employers to break down these barriers and match businesses with the right training solutions.

With new apprenticeship cohorts starting this September in construction, IT and cyber security, engineering, motor vehicle, and accountancy (AAT), the team has decided to debunk some of these myths and explain how apprenticeships could benefit businesses of all sizes.

Here are the top five misconceptions they often encounter when speaking with employers.

1. Apprenticeships are only for school leavers

Dawn Morgan, business development manager for apprenticeships in IT and professional services, says: “Many companies still think apprenticeships are only for school leavers, not realising they’re open to anyone aged 16 and over.

“We train more than a thousand apprentices every year — from you…

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The commitment to nuclear power projects by the Chancellor in her Spending Review is great news for the Gloucestershire economy.

My optimism is based on the fact that Rachel Reeves announced last week that Rolls-Royce are now the preferred bidder for the development of the new small modular reactors(SMRs).

I believe that these mini reactors-as many as six of them here in Gloucestershire and South Gloucestershire-have the potential to provide thousands of skilled jobs and the opportunity of millions of pounds flowing into our regional economy here in the South West.

Berkeley and Oldbury-the two former decommissioned nuclear sites now hold a major key to a big nuclear hub.

We have waited a long time for the result of the government’s decision on the SMR competitive bid but now that has been announced I expect the planning process to start in earnest.

However, this will not be a quick process and the development of skills for this new technology is a major challenge.

Earlier this year, in an e…

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‘There are things we don’t know we don’t know’. Not only are there gaps in our knowledge, but often we don’t even know it.

This classic quote describes how prospects can feel when I run through a list of questions in order to understand their business and their aspirations for the future.

Not knowing how the numbers can be used to make your business work better is possibly the biggest thing they didn’t know that they should know.

Your accountant is/should be your trusted advisor with the expert advice and experience to ask the right questions to benefit your business.

I always start by checking that you have monthly figures which are timely, accurate and understandable. Quite often we find that errors in the reporting are leading to the wrong decisions being made as a result.

This is where our team can help to get clients set up on or transfer to a software package which best suits their business needs.

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As this landscape continues to evolve, so too do the tools available to business owners.

One that’s quietly gaining traction - yet still widely misunderstood - is Bitcoin.

At Nephos Group, based here in Cheltenham, we work closely with businesses across sectors, helping them navigate financial decisions, tax obligations, and emerging technologies.

Through our crypto accounting arm, Myna, we’ve seen an increasing number of conversations centered on Bitcoin - not as a speculative investment, but as a practical tool for businesses.

So, why are some companies choosing to accept it?

A niche market with surprising value

Bitcoin users - often called Bitcoiners - represent a small but growing community. What makes them interesting from a business perspective is their loyalty. Many actively seek out companie…

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As we commemorate the 80th anniversary of VE Day this year, we at QuoLux find ourselves reflecting on the profound leadership lessons that emerge from this pivotal moment in history.

Victory in Europe Day marked not just the end of a devastating conflict, but the triumph of collaborative leadership, strategic vision and unwavering resilience, qualities that remain fundamental to business leadership today.

The Enduring Principles of Wartime Leadership

The leaders who guided nations through World War II demonstrated exceptional qualities that transcend their historical context. Churchill’s resolute communication inspired a nation during its darkest hours. Eisenhower’s collaborative approach united diverse forces toward a common goal. These leaders faced unprecedented challenges with clarity of purpose and decisive action, principles that continue to define effective leadership eight decades later.

“Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.” - Win…

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With technological advancements, tax changes, utility rate increases and even implications with recycling regulatory changes, running a business is a full time job let alone finding the time to manage change.

Throw in a wild card overseas and it becomes increasingly important to find the time to work on the business, writes Tim Watkins, managing partner of Gloucestershire-headquartered accountants Randall & Payne.

Having a robust but flexible business strategy in place is possibly the only way to navigate the influx of changes we seem to see more regularly these days.

The positive to having changes imposed upon us is the opportunity to reflect and focus on the core of our business as it is too easy to just keep on doing the doing but not checking that the strategy is still fit for purpose and being followed.

In March we invited business leaders to join us at our offices to watch the Spring Statement and partake in an immediate reflection afterwards. You will probably agree there wasn’t mu…

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In the latest blog to feature on the website of one of our key Founding Partners, leadership development specialists QuoLux, Professor Malcolm McDonald caught our eye with this opening line: “I’d like to explain how a winning marketing strategy will make you richer”.

McDonald has published more than 50 books, sold more than half a million copies, and worked with directors in hundreds of companies.

In this blog on market planning and strategy, the long-standing associate of Gloucester-headquartered QuoLux addresses the fundamentals that can transform your business performance.

You can also read this blog, and more, on the QuoLux website. The link is at the foot of this page.

The Revealing Questions That Expose Business Vulnerability

I work primarily at director level, and there are two simple questions that quickly reveal whether a company is in — or heading toward — serious financial trouble:

1. What are your key target markets in order of priority?

2. In each market, what are your organisat…

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Putting it mildly, many businesses face real challenges as we enter 2025 and as a result, the government’s much vaunted growth seems somewhat lost, writes Ian Mean.

The key challenge is perhaps the outcome of the October Budget.

Put simply, it will leave many of our SMEs-the small and medium size businesses-struggling to survive following the National Insurance increase of 15 per cent from April.

One Gloucestershire boss I talked to last week told me the National Insurance rise would cost his business £30 000 - and that was for a relatively small business.

It is those SMEs-the engine driving the Gloucestershire economy -which will be hit hardest.

We have just under 30 000 of those SMEs here and when you look at the county council list of these firms you see that a lot of them are micro businesses-that is those with just 0-10 employees.

Here’s a sample of that SME list of companies here.Stroud: 5,785 of which 5,150 are micro firms;Cotswold: 6,075 of which 5,415 are micros; Cheltenham: 5,190 …

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Far too often , I believe we forget the importance of farmers and associated food businesses to our Gloucestershire economy, writes Ian Mean, Business West Gloucestershire director.

Too often we forget about food security and how vital it is to produce our own food on our own land.

These concerns have been put into sharp focus following the Budget which scrapped exemptions that until now have allowed farms to be passed down the generations free of inheritance tax.

Minette Batters, the indefatigable former leader of the National Farmers Union, put it bluntly when she said: “This Treasury attack on farmers is unforgiveable. It will destroy lives, force up food prices and ruin the countryside.”

She is right. This inheritance tax raid of farmers will put food security at risk, and according to suppliers, leave Britain more reliant on foreign imports.

Agriculture has long been part of the Gloucestershire landscape, and according to the National Farmers

Union, over 70 per cent of the county is ag…

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I go to a lot of business events, but few excite me like the official opening of Gloucestershire College’s new £5 million sustaInable construction training centre, writes Ian Mean, Business West’s Gloucestershire director.

Yes, it’s part of the college’s Cheltenham campus but a vitally needed training centre which will serve the whole of Gloucestershire at a critical time for our infrastructure development.

Building for growth is the name of the game.

This new centre is sited cheek by jowl with the Golden Valley digital/cyber project and expands the provision with additional training in electrical, plumbing and carpentry.

It will be an essential cog in Gloucestershire’s wheel of growth and skills.

And that growth will not happen unless we have far more skilled young people like these local students taking those important jobs and not leaving the county.

Nationally, the UK faces a huge funding gap on capital projects according to research from EY I read at the weekend which saId that the cou…

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Tewkesbury is fast becoming a veritable powerhouse for business growth as more companies move into the area and the magnet for young families setting up home there, writes Ian Mean.

In an interview with the new leader of Tewkesbury Borough Council, councillor Richard Stanley, Mean, now of Business West and a former editor of the Western Daily Press, asks him how the area is going to cope with the tremendous growth coming its way. 

Tewkesbury’s housing growth over the next 20 years will be massive-far more than any other part of Gloucestershire. 

And how many people know that Tewkesbury Borough has the fourth highest economy out of 331 boroughs in the UK? 

I certainly didn’t.  

But what we don’t probably realise is that many of the  large employers-companies like Safran- are more close to Gloucester or Cheltenham in proximity but are actually in Tewkesbury borough. 

So, why haven’t the council shouted more about their  business growth and their plans to attract more  more companies? 

Councill…

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Gloucestershire’s Economic Strategy 2024-2034 has been very overt on the importance of key partnerships. Figure two in the strategy outlines who Gloucestershire’s key partners are and the role they will play in delivery each of the four strategic priorities: 

1. Sustainable growth 

2. Inward investment 

3. Employment and skills 

4. Business innovation and support 

The strategy is rightly ambitious and incredibly exciting. Leaders across the county (and beyond) will no doubt be looking at the signals and opportunities contained within the 72 pages. Very few organisations can do anything without their own partnerships.

Supply chains, experts, consultants, administrators, and even competitors can all be part of our success. 

How do we create the right partnerships for us? 

What do we need? 

This questions often requires us to stop what we are doing and think about our organisation. Our horizon might not stretch to the 10 years that Gloucestershire’s Economic Strategy covers, but we should think about the que…

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Confidential talks are now moving at pace to site some of the first new nuclear Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) in Gloucestershire with Rolls Royce SMR in a strong position to develop this new technology, writes Ian Mean, Business West Gloucestershire director.

South Gloucestershire and Stroud College are at the centre of the development as they progress the sale of their Gloucestershire Business and Science Park at Berkeley Green to the Chiltern Vital Group (CVG).

Chiltern are leading negotiations which are in the final stage of due diligence for the 38-acre site at Berkeley for a sale figure of up to £10 million.

The government backed Great British Nuclear organisation (GBN) have bought the Oldbury site from Hitachi for £160 million, I believe that the Oldbury/Berkeley sites could house several SMR’s, if required.

The purchase of Oldbury indicates SMR’s will be coming to Gloucestershire and this will herald the start of an exciting new chapter in Gloucestershire’s heritage of nuclear ener…

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With just a few weeks to go to the general election on July 4, our businesses want a  clear victor to emerge to overhaul the planning system and upgrade infrastructure to kickstart the economy. 

Companies simply want the new government to support investor confidence for real growth, writes Ian Mean, Business West Gloucestershire director.

In my view, the new government needs a formal industrial strategy to maximise Britain’s strengths in the life sciences, digital, creative, financial services, clean power, automotive, aerospace and defence sectors. 

Isn’t that logical? 

Here in Gloucestershire, the key sectors which need the new government’s support include security cyber, digital, nuclear and specialist engineering and manufacturing. 

Quite a list. 

Our prospective MPs must get a grip on the need to support the key sector companies in their areas. 

And in Gloucestershire that support must predominantly be for the SMEs-the small and medium size companies-of which there are around 30,000. 

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