Apprenticeships: How Can They Support Sustainable Organisational Management?
摘要
This chapter will summarise the findings from an engineering doctoral project, spanning 3 years. The research is about degree apprenticeships in England, specifically the ones in civil engineering at Level 6; however, this chapter will take a broader view of the role of apprenticeships as a sustainable facet contributing to organisational management. The research will be relevant to organisations to gain a better understanding of how apprenticeship programmes could become integrated into business as usual, with links to recruitment, retention, and skills development, to name some. The research adopted an ethnographic methodology, gathering qualitative data from 2019 to early 2022 using questionnaires and focus groups. Software analyses were undertaken with the results from the apprentice questionnaires, uncovering underlying constructs which were in turn used to structure the focus group prework and discussion questions. This chapter will consider the data collected from the focus groups. The research will lead organisations to evaluate and consider where apprenticeships and similar skills development frameworks can support long-term business visions and plans. This research will be added to the early body of works in this subject area and will present examples of supporting activities that can promote the longevity of skills development for employees.