ECA’s new apprentice support extends loan labour scheme to apprentices

The ECA has announced a new apprentice support mechanism, forming part of the association’s ‘loan labour scheme’. The new support will allow employers to both loan out apprentices and hire them on a temporary secondment basis. 

Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, many firms may have seen a shortfall in their workloads. This is exactly what the loan labour scheme was designed for. It allows employers to loan out their employees to other firms, ensuring their workers continue to earn. By extending this support to apprentices, it means that those new to the industry won’t just continue to earn, but they’ll also continue to benefit from learning while on the job. 

Andrew Eldred, ECA director of Employment and Skills, commented, “In these challenging times, some engineering services businesses are facing periods of time when they may struggle to find work for all their apprentices. Other firms are still busy, and are ready and able to help.

“Given the critical importance of apprentices to the future of the industry, our new apprentice support service will help ensure that temporary opportunities can be found to keep them learning and in employment.”

Research from The Electrotechnical Skills Partnership in 2018/19 found that apprentices deliver a net return to their employer of up to £57,000 within four years of joining the business.

ECA has also produced guidance and flowcharts for businesses on how to keep apprentices employed and travelling and working safely during the current climate, with more tools and support to follow in the near future.

The apprentice support service forms part of ECA’s broader ‘loan labour scheme’, which gives businesses flexibility to bring in high-quality staff without resorting to agencies.

To find out more about ECA’s apprentice secondment service, please click here.