Seventy one percent of business owners would prefer to hire an apprentice with on-the-job experience rather than an entry level graduate; 74percentsaid the government don’t do enough to support apprenticeships.

Business owners increasingly prefer to hire skilled apprentices over graduates fresh from university, according to new research from RatedPeople. In a survey of 1000 small and medium business owners, 71 percent said they would prefer to hire an apprentice with on-the-job experience to an entry level graduate, while 74 percent said the government didn’t do enough to support them.

These findings come just ahead of National Apprenticeships Week. Businesses can currently apply for a grant of £1500 to help cover the cost of an apprentice, but as the survey reveals, there is a clear appetite amongst businesses for more support. Government research shows that 90 percent of apprentices stay in employment after finishing their apprenticeship. The research further reveals that business owners in Northern Ireland particularly favour apprentices, with 92 percent expressing a preference for them, compared to the national average.