The sector skills council for hospitality, leisure, travel and tourism, found employers viewed apprentices as a catalyst for encouraging fellow workers to raise their game and step up performance.
Four in 10 employers surveyed (41%) claimed that apprentices were far more productive than new hires, while 49% said they made their businesses more competitive. When asked what value apprentices added to their business, employers were bowled over by their willingness to learn (90%) and enthusiasm (63%), as well as their flexibility and responsiveness to change (47%).
Considering the tangible benefits to sector businesses, the cost of hiring an apprentice seems to quickly pay for itself with a third (33%) of respondents recouping their costs within a year and a further 20% within 18 months.
This year, one in four of the sector's employers took on an apprentice and 37% of those currently offering the scheme said they were considering increasing their intake in the next financial year. A staggering 60% of employers who had not previously offered apprenticeships confirmed they were seriously considering this option.
However, despite their interest, almost half (46%) do not understand the apprenticeship scheme process and how to go about taking on an apprentice.
The survey also revealed 53% of businesses have found that, on average, apprentices stay for up to two years within their organisation while 27% stay for up to three years.
Brian Wisdom, chief executive of People 1st, said: "Apprenticeships are the lifeblood of the hospitality and travel and tourism sectors and give employers access to a rich and cost-effective source of raw and enthusiastic talent within a very short period of time that they can mould and shape into tomorrow's future leaders.
"Without doubt, Apprenticeship programmes encourage more talented young people into the business, which ultimately should improve the quality of the travel and tourism workforce."
Charles Prew, chief executive of Barcelo Hotels, added: "Apprenticeships are a solution to so many of our sector's recruitment and retention problems. At Barceló, we place huge importance on not just selecting the right people, but on looking after them and developing them as an integral part of our business. Apprenticeships are a key building block in creating a new generation of talent.
"Barceló UK has recently invested £500,000 in its Barceló Apprentice Chef Academy (BACA). We believe the BACA has enabled us to recruit young people with the most potential who are keen to pursue a career as chefs but until now have never had a chance. Our chefs currently taking part in the scheme are proving to be a real success. They are all motivated and ambitious with a passion to succeed. Following the training programme, we hope they will stay within Barceló UK and be our head chefs of tomorrow. We will shortly be offering our apprentices a UK Skills Passport that will assist in identifying gaps in the apprentices' knowledge to ensure they keep moving up the career ladder."
TUI UK and Ireland's accredited programmes manager, Andy Smyth, confirmed that their own internal research chimed with People 1st's findings. "TUI UK and Ireland continue to be committed to offering a range of apprenticeship programmes that have seen over 3,500 apprentices trained in the past five years."
