Employment law is on the cusp of significant change – and apprenticeships offer HR professionals the best way to stay relevant and climb the ladder. That’s according to Angela Kaine, Operations Director for Programmes at leading training provider Realise, who believes the real-life experiences learned through apprenticeships can be invaluable for career progression.
The Government’s flagship Employment Rights Bill, which is working its way through Parliament, features more than two dozen reforms to employment law, including changes to zero hour contracts and improvements to day one rights for workers.
Signing up for an apprenticeship demonstrates commitment and dedication to best practice and staying on top of a rapidly changing legal landscape.
We are heading towards one of the most significant periods of change we have ever seen in employment law with the new Government’s Employment Rights Bill. This covers everything from the banning of zero-hour contracts, day-one rights on parental leave and sick pay, a requirement for employers to accommodate flexible working right from the off and the easing of restrictions on trade union activity.
The goal is to drive up employment standards for workers but for HR professionals across the country, there will also be increased employment tribunals, countless re-written contracts and sweeping modifications to recruitment processes.
As HR professionals, we have a responsibility to be aware of these changes and how they impact the work we do. It’s not only about dealing with claims – it’s about stopping it getting that far in the first place.
We’ll be adapting our apprenticeships immediately with the latest legislation. Due to the constant changing nature of employment law, apprenticeships can play a big part in teaching you how to be agile and to know where to go for the right information.
From my own experience of achieving the HR Consultant apprenticeship, perhaps the biggest benefit was developing critical thinking skills and building a network of knowledge to call upon. Traditional HR qualifications are ideal in providing underpinning theories – but I firmly believe the on-the-job nature of apprenticeships gives an added advantage in developing practical skills.
Understanding a theory is a good foundation to build on and applying this learning in real situations helps you see how it works in practice, gaining valuable experience as you go. With an apprenticeship, you are exposed to real-life problems and learn how to deal with them. If there are mistakes along the way, you learn by them and do it better next time.
It helps to develop behaviours such as resilience. In HR you are dealing with real people who might well have problems they want resolved. Until you are in that situation, you don’t know how you are going to feel.
The nature of HR and the huge spectrum of potential employee issues means it is impossible to cover every scenario in a classroom, insisting it was better to develop character traits and critical thinking skills in real-life situations, while heeding guidance from peers.
The role of the HR professional is more diverse than ever before. Talent retention and attracting talent are still important, but helping to build a positive culture and understanding the emotional undercurrents within teams is also key. Away from the workplace, we encourage peer-to-peer learning so our learners can share what happens in their organisation.
Our apprenticeships include interactive, live learning sessions and have the flexibility to discuss hot topics and legal changes as they happen. That’s a really good way of learning.
Apprenticeships can really give you the edge and help you kick-start a HR career. We have some tremendous success stories where learners have been promoted and now play important roles within their business.”
Realise runs two main HR apprenticeships – People Professional Level 5 and HR Support Level 3 – taking around 200 people through the courses over the last year.
Visit https://realisetraining.com
