APPRENTICESHIPS in York could boost the economy by £47 million over a six-year period, research by the National Apprenticeship Service (NAS) has found.

The research said if every business in York hired just one local apprentice, the return on investment to the city would be £47 million.

In only three years, it could deliver a return on investment of more than £10 million to York’s 5,820 companies if they all hired apprentices.

The research calculated that apprentices would deliver a return on investment of £1.2 billion in six years to the wider Yorkshire and Humber business community, and more than £235 million to North Yorkshire, based on the findings of a report by Warwick Institute for Employment Research into the net benefits of apprenticeship.

Louise Lawrence-Crockford, assistant principal for employer engagement at York College, said she was pleased the NAS had confirmed something that the companies the college worked with already knew.

“We welcome the news and hope that this will encourage more companies to engage with apprenticeships as part of their recruitment process,” she said.

The research has been released as the NAS launches an online calculator on its website to calculate the impact an apprentice can make to a company’s bottom line, including factors such as salaries and training costs. Nick Wilson, regional director for the NAS in Yorkshire and the Humber, said most apprenticeships lasted two to three years, and then employers gained much higher net benefits once the apprentices were qualified.

He said: “With more than 5,000 companies operating in York, we hope the new tool provides food for thought to local employers who may be considering hiring an apprentice for the first time. As well as a tangible financial return and increased profitability, apprentices can also offer less measurable, but equally important, business benefits, such as improving staff retention, producing future managers and introducing innovation to firms operating across a diverse breadth of sectors.”