One of the easiest ways to attract apprentices is to have an HQ in a large city like Edinburgh, London or Manchester. But what if your business falls into the ‘rural region’ category? How can you attract the volume and quality of applicants that metropolitan companies have access to?
It’s important to remember that your business is not at a disadvantage – you simply need to adjust your outreach strategies to appeal to learners in underserved or small local areas. This post outlines comprehensive campaigns so your apprenticeship opportunities can flourish, no matter where your business is located.
The rural challenge: Why apprentices are reluctant to relocate and engage
This challenge is a double-edged sword: on the one hand, you might be struggling to engage apprentices who already live in underserved areas. Conversely, the difficulty lies in encouraging apprentices to relocate to your rurally situated base. Perhaps your business faces both roadblocks. Either way, there’s a lot of work involved in engaging learners that fall into these categories.
University students are often keen to move away from home – in fact, that’s one of the big draws for young learners. However, apprentices generally don’t feel the same way. They often transition directly from schools, and an apprenticeship might be their first real step into adulthood.
Relocating comes hand-in-hand with fears about leaving family, navigating expensive living arrangements, adapting to unfamiliar environments and lacking social support. These concerns are understandable, particularly if your target audience is young people fresh out of school or college.
It’s not just about getting apprentices to move to you; engaging those who already live in rural or underserved areas comes with its own unique set of difficulties. These individuals have limited access to information about apprenticeship opportunities, as traditional marketing channels might not reach them. Additionally, a lack of reliable public transport can shutter any enthusiasm about achieving an apprenticeship.
Your role as an employer is to demonstrate that you recognise these fears and can provide solutions, proving that the benefits of an apprenticeship opportunity further afield outweigh the downsides.
Strategies for engaging apprentices in rural areas
There are no one-size-fits-all strategies that apply to all businesses. Your marketing, recruitment and senior leadership teams must navigate the complexities of engaging apprentices in a way that suits your brand and unique target audience.
Implemented targeted digital campaigns
Digital advertising is the best way to target apprentices in specific rural postcodes or regions. For example, a young person interested in a digital marketing apprenticeship might only see advertising from city-centric roles.
Leverage digital advertising platforms like:
- Google Ads: Use Google’s geo-targeting features to target learners by postcode, location radius, town or even country.
- Social media ads on Facebook/Instagram/LinkedIn: Reach demographics by interest (e.g., students interested in engineering) or educational background.
- Best Apprenticeships platform: Puts your brand in front of 25,000 visitors per month, ensuring your apprenticeship vacancies are seen by the right applicants.
As well as running targeted ad campaigns, you can focus on local SEO strategies. This approach entails optimizing your website and apprenticeship listings for local search terms (e.g., ‘apprenticeships [town name],’ ‘tech apprenticeships [county]’). When apprentices try to find local opportunities, your content will show up.
Don’t forget traditional local marketing
There’s nothing wrong with the old-fashioned method of handing out leaflets, and it can even prove effective for brand awareness and local community building. You could think about:
- Handing out leaflets and flyers: Hand out these physical marketing materials at local hotspots such as doctor’s surgeries, restaurants, and libraries.
- Direct mail: DM is a bold strategy in which you send letters or packages to key influencers and stakeholders. Keep in mind that sending mail to prospective apprentices under 18 is shaky territory, so a better approach is to target their parents or guardians.
- School resources: Invest time in preparing learning packs and other handout resources, especially for young learners.
Host live events
What better way to show that your business is welcoming and viable than hosting live events with students, parents and schools?
- Presentations and Q&A sessions: Productive school partnerships mean your business could secure an invite to school events like parent-teacher evenings, PTFA meetings and careers open days. Offer to deliver engaging and insightful presentations highlighting the specific benefits of apprenticeships for local young people and addressing common misconceptions.
- Virtual sessions: In today’s digital era, parents and apprentices are just as likely to attend virtual events, such as webinars, as in-person ones.
- Success stories talks: Invite your existing apprentices to share their experiences with other local learners, inspiring the next generation of apprentices.
Collaborate with local businesses and organizations
Joint marketing initiatives are a great way to improve brand awareness and create a trustworthy and aspirational narrative around your business. Small companies can benefit from the extra hands on deck, and large organisations can use this strategy to attract a higher volume of apprenticeship applications.
- Resource pooling: Depending on the size of your business, pooling resources for recruitment drives and advertising campaigns targeting rural areas could be efficient and cost-effective.
- Joint marketing campaigns: A multi-business campaign centred around the benefits of local apprenticeship opportunities could be just what you need to get the attention of rural learners.
- Local enterprise partnerships: Check if the rural regions have any business networking initiatives, such as a chamber of commerce. It could be your first step toward collaborating with other businesses.
Partner with schools and colleges
Strengthening your connections with local schools and colleges is worth every minute and penny of investment. After all, this is where your apprentices are.
- Dedicated school partner: Choose a team member (ideally in HR, business development or account management) to act as your dedicated school liaison officer. Their role will involve facilitating relationships with rural schools and the careers advisors and teachers working there.
- Partner with community hubs: Schools aren’t the only place where you’ll find eager young learners. Reach out to community centres and youth organisations that already have healthy connections with your target demographic.
- Promote work experience: Most schools encourage work experience and summer internship placements for young people, and they often have pre-established business connections to facilitate this. Get involved by offering week-long virtual or in-person opportunities and giving future apprentices a taste of what’s to come.
The final tip… leverage apprenticeship-specific advertising platforms
Finding top apprenticeship talent in rural or underserved areas requires a strategic, localised approach to effectively bridge the geographical gap. Platforms like Best Apprenticeships specialise in connecting employers with potential apprentices, helping your ads reach an established audience of 25,000 quality applicants already seeking apprenticeship vacancies.
Best Apprenticeships offers a user-friendly, slick alternative to bloated, “catch-all” job board solutions, giving you one less thing to worry about. Take the first step and advertise today.
