Given the current skills shortage, employers are taking a fresh look at apprenticeships, and liking what they see.

The idea of employing someone young and enthusiastic, who can be trained up in the skills your organisation needs can be very appealing. Combining the skills and experience of an aging workforce with the enthusiasms of our young digital natives, familiar with technology from their earliest days, can be a winning formula.

However, not all apprentices are young school or college leavers these days. You can employ apprentices at different levels, from school leavers and university graduates, to people who want to further their careers or change career direction completely, it just depends on the needs of your organisation. You don't even have to take on someone new, but can take the opportunity to upskill an existing employee.

There are hundreds of apprenticeships to choose from, all offering flexible, structured training, to meet your needs designed by groups of employers, to reflect the knowledge, skills and behaviours an apprentice needs for a specific occupation. The only stipulations are that they must be 16 or over, a UK resident and not in full time education. Their apprenticeship must combine work with study to gain skills and knowledge in a specific job and they must spend at least 20 per cent of their working hours on "off-the-job" training with your chosen training provider.

Apprentices bring numerous advantages to the organisations they join, but one of the biggest benefits of an apprenticeship scheme is that it helps create a dedicated, loyal workforce. The majority of apprentices are young school or college leavers, meaning that they have lots of energy with which to learn the ways of your business as you help them climb the career ladder within your organisation. However, also offering the opportunity of extra training and career progression to existing employees will help retain skilled members of staff, and upskill your entire workforce. Senior members of staff may even choose an apprenticeship to upskill for management.

Some key benefits of taking on an apprentice reported on the government's Apprenticeships website were 86% of employers saying apprenticeships helped them develop skills relevant to their organisation, 78% of employers said apprenticeships helped them improve productivity and 74% of employers said apprenticeships helped them improve the quality of their product or service. Meanwhile the Commission on Employment study found that 88% of employers felt that apprenticeships were a cost-effective way to train staff.

The next step is to find a training provider, often a local college or university. Find apprenticeship training shows you key facts about providers in your area, such as the percentage of apprentices that have passed their apprenticeship with the training provider, and their employer and learner satisfaction ratings. When looking for an apprenticeship, make sure the training suits your business, and that you discuss your expectations with the training provider. Finding the right provider is vital, so find out what other employers in your sector say about them and what the apprentices say.

The initial outlay of hiring an apprentice is less than many companies think, thanks to government funding and the fact that they are paid a reduced wage. The government provides funding to help pay for the cost of training and assessment. The amount you get depends on whether you pay the apprenticeship levy or not. If you are not a large company which pays the apprenticeship levy, you will pay 5% towards the cost of training and assessing your apprentice. You will need to find a training provider, often your local college, and agree a payment schedule and pay them directly for the training. The government pays the remaining 95% up to the funding band maximum direct to the training provider.

You can also get extra funding, depending on both your and your apprentice's circumstances, of £1,000 to support your apprentice in the workplace if they are one of the following:

• 16 to 18 years old

• 19 to 25 years old with an education, health and care plan

• 19 to 25 years old and they used to be in care

If your apprentice is eligible, your training provider will give you the payment in 2 instalments of £500. You will get the first payment after 90 days and the second one after a year. You might also be able to get a payment when you hire an apprentice who had been made redundant.

Taking on an apprentice is a positive opportunity to invest in your company's future.