The National Franchised Dealers Association (NFDA) has found that 95% of apprentices would remain with the same company if they received a job offer after their training period.

Insight delivered as part of research into the organisations Drive My Career employment initiative polled its target audience of 16 to 24-year-old potential candidates to help car retailers understand the challenges and advantages of attracting young recruits to their business.

The vast majority of respondents (95%) responded ‘yes’ to the question ‘after an apprenticeship, would you continue to work for the same company if they offered you the job?’.

Other insights offered by the poll found that 47% of young people would opt for an apprenticeship over a university degree course

Almost 40% of respondents said the ‘earn while you learn’ element is the most important part of an apprenticeship, closely followed by ‘understanding the work environment’ (27%) and ‘gaining early work experience’ (26%).

Drive My Career’s findings mirrored the trend at one of its biggest members, franchised dealer group JCT600. JCT600 operates in Yorkshire, Lincolnshire, Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire and the North East.

Katie Saunders, JCT600’s HR director, said: “We recruit between 40 and 50 Apprentices each year through our Group Programme. We employ immediately on permanent contracts rather than temporary or “Apprenticeship” contracts because we see our Apprentices as long-term future talent. Ensuring that they have great mentors is also key. We are proud of our 95% retention rate once they have qualified and we have multiple examples of apprentices growing with us to become Managers”. 

Sue Robinson, NFDA Director, added, “It is encouraging to see that a large percentage of young people see apprenticeships as an ideal route into their professional career. Our findings demonstrate the importance of investing in the workforce of the future.

“The automotive retail industry offers a wide range of rewarding, entry-level roles to those looking to start their professional career. Thanks to the support of its franchised dealer members, Drive My Career will continue to showcase how exciting a career in our sector can be”.

Launched by the NFDA in February 2018 to improve the perception of the automotive industry among young people, Drive My Career targets 16 to 24-year-old potential automotive retail sector employees to raise their awareness of the exciting career opportunities available in the sector.

Since January 2019, more than 13,000 young people have been redirected by Drive My Career to the career pages of its members.

Social media platforms including Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube are the key channels of communication used to connect with the target audience.

Drive My Career’s YouTube channel now has over 220,000 views.