Apprenticeships and Internships Gain Ground as Employers Prioritise Skills Over Degrees

New research reveals employers are increasingly valuing skills, internships and apprenticeships over degrees, with AI and in-person training reshaping early careers recruitment.

The latest research into early careers recruitment suggests that employers are placing less emphasis on academic qualifications alone and giving greater weight to practical skills, adaptability and real-world experience. 

For young people entering the jobs market, that could mean apprenticeships and internships are becoming more valuable than ever before.

According to the newly published 2026 Best Practice Early Careers Guide from TST, organisations are increasingly creating multiple routes into employment rather than relying solely on traditional graduate recruitment.

The report found that companies with well-developed internship-to-graduate programmes retain significantly more employees over the long term.

 After three years, 73% of graduates who came through strong internship pipelines were still with their employer, compared with 62% at organisations without similar programmes. 

Internships also attracted around 20% more applications than graduate schemes and an impressive 80% more than apprenticeship vacancies, highlighting the growing appeal of gaining workplace experience before committing to a permanent role.

The findings are based on recruitment and retention data from 30 global organisations employing more than 2.75 million people. They paint a picture of employers becoming increasingly interested in what candidates can demonstrate rather than simply what qualifications they hold.

Dr Khairunnisa Mohamedali, (PICTURED) Managing Director and Chief Innovation Officer at TST, believes businesses are looking for people who can adapt quickly to changing workplaces. She told That's Business that it is her argument that skills, attitude and potential are now sitting alongside formal qualifications when employers make recruitment decisions.

Supporting this trend, research from the National Association of Colleges and Employers suggests that 70% of employers now use skills-based hiring for entry-level positions, while nearly half of middle-skill jobs have removed formal degree requirements altogether.

The report also highlights another interesting development: the return of face-to-face learning. Organisations with the strongest long-term retention rates delivered almost two-thirds of their induction programmes in person, compared with just over a quarter among lower-performing employers. 

Building personal relationships, company culture and workplace confidence during those early weeks appears to have a lasting impact on employee loyalty.

Artificial intelligence is also reshaping graduate development. As AI increasingly takes over routine tasks that once helped new recruits gain confidence and experience, employers are placing even greater value on qualities such as curiosity, resilience, communication and a willingness to learn. Rather than replacing early careers programmes, AI is changing what successful development looks like.

For businesses competing for tomorrow's workforce, the message is clear. Investing in apprenticeships, internships, meaningful in-person training and skills-based recruitment could prove to be one of the smartest talent strategies of the decade.

https://www.wearetst.com/insight/insight-article.html?slug=best-practice-early-careers-guide-2026

Could Your Local Business Become a National Franchise Success Story? A Guide for Growing SMEs

Discover how local businesses with a strong USP can expand nationwide through franchising. Learn what makes a business franchise-ready and how to attract potential investors.

Every successful national brand started somewhere. Whether it was a single coffee shop, a family-run bakery, a specialist cleaning company or an innovative home improvement service, many of today's best-known businesses began as one local enterprise with a great idea.

If your business has developed a unique selling proposition (USP) that customers genuinely value, franchising could be the next exciting step in your growth journey.

What makes a business suitable for franchising?

Not every business is ready to become a franchise, but many owners underestimate just how transferable their model can be.

A strong franchise opportunity usually has several things in common:

A proven business model with consistent profits.

A recognisable brand.

Products or services that customers actively seek out.

Systems that can be taught to someone else.

Strong operational procedures.

Ongoing demand in multiple locations.

If someone else can successfully replicate what you do by following your systems, you're already thinking like a franchisor.

Your USP is your biggest asset

The strongest franchises don't try to be everything to everyone.

Instead, they excel at doing one thing exceptionally well.

Perhaps you offer an innovative food concept, a specialist repair service, eco-friendly cleaning, unique retail products or an outstanding customer experience that competitors struggle to match.

Your USP becomes the reason franchisees invest. They're buying into a proven concept that already stands out from the crowd.

Grow without owning every location

Opening branches yourself requires significant investment, management time and financial risk.

Franchising allows ambitious entrepreneurs to invest their own capital to open new locations under your brand.

In return, franchisees usually pay:

An initial franchise fee.

Ongoing royalty payments.

Contributions towards national marketing.

This creates opportunities to expand much more quickly than relying solely on your own finances.

Protect your reputation

Growth should never come at the expense of quality.

Successful franchisors invest heavily in training, operations manuals, brand standards and ongoing support.

From customer service and marketing to stock management and health and safety, every aspect of the business should be clearly documented so customers enjoy the same experience wherever they visit.

Consistency is what builds trust in a growing brand.

Think nationally from day one

Even if you currently operate from a single town or city, ask yourself:

Could this business work in Manchester? Birmingham? Cardiff? Edinburgh? Belfast?

If the answer is yes, your market could be much larger than your local area.

With today's digital marketing, cloud-based systems and online training platforms, supporting franchisees across the UK has never been more practical.

Get professional advice first

Franchising is a significant legal and commercial undertaking, so it's worth speaking to experienced franchise consultants, solicitors and accountants before launching.

They can help you develop franchise agreements, operations manuals, financial models and recruitment processes that protect both your business and your future franchisees.

Could your business be next?

Britain has an impressive history of successful franchise brands, many of which started life as small independent businesses with a big idea and the determination to grow.

If your business has a distinctive USP, loyal customers and a model that others can successfully replicate, franchising could provide the route to national recognition while helping other entrepreneurs build successful businesses of their own.

Sometimes the biggest opportunity isn't opening your next branch yourself, it's giving someone else the chance to succeed using the business model you've already perfected.

You should consider becoming a member of the British Franchise Association. For nearly 50 years the BFA have been representing the specialist needs of franchise operators in Britain.

https://www.thebfa.org

International Day of Cooperatives: Celebrating Businesses Built on Shared Success

Discover why International Day of Cooperatives highlights the importance of member-owned businesses and how co-operatives continue to strengthen communities and economies.

Every year, the International Day of Cooperatives shines a spotlight on a business model that has been quietly transforming communities, supporting local economies and creating sustainable businesses for generations.

Celebrated on the first Saturday of July, the day recognises the contribution that co-operatives make across the world. From agriculture and retail to finance, housing, healthcare and renewable energy, co-operatives demonstrate that commercial success and social responsibility can go hand in hand.

Unlike conventional businesses that primarily exist to maximise returns for shareholders, co-operatives are owned and democratically controlled by their members. Those members may be customers, employees, producers or local residents, all sharing a common interest in the organisation's success.

This unique structure encourages long-term thinking. Decisions are often made with the wider community in mind, balancing profitability with fairness, sustainability and resilience.

The UK has a proud co-operative tradition. Millions of people are members of co-operatives, whether they realise it or not, through retail societies, credit unions, farming groups or employee-owned businesses. Many communities also rely on co-operative enterprises to preserve vital local services that might otherwise disappear.

For entrepreneurs and business leaders, the co-operative model offers an alternative way to build an organisation. Employee-owned businesses, for example, can improve staff engagement, increase loyalty and create a stronger sense of shared purpose.

Producer co-operatives allow smaller businesses to pool resources, improve purchasing power and compete more effectively in increasingly challenging markets.

As businesses continue to face economic uncertainty, changing consumer expectations and growing pressure to operate sustainably, many are looking again at collaborative models that distribute both opportunity and responsibility more evenly.

Consumers, too, are increasingly interested in supporting organisations whose values align with their own. Transparency, ethical trading and community investment are becoming important factors in purchasing decisions, making the co-operative approach more relevant than ever.

International Day of Cooperatives is an opportunity not only to celebrate existing success stories but also to encourage discussion about how businesses can become more resilient, inclusive and community-focused.

Whether it's a local food co-operative, an employee-owned consultancy, a community energy scheme or a national retail organisation, co-operatives continue to prove that businesses can succeed while delivering lasting benefits for their members and society as a whole.

As the global economy evolves, the principles of co-operation, shared ownership and mutual support remain powerful tools for building stronger businesses and stronger communities.

https://www.uk.coop

Micro-, Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises Day: Celebrating Britain's SMEs

Micro-, Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises Day: Celebrating the Businesses That Keep Britain Moving.

Discover why Micro-, Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises Day celebrates the entrepreneurs and small businesses driving innovation, jobs and economic growth across the UK.

Every year on 27 June, the world marks Micro-, Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (MSME) Day – an opportunity to recognise the millions of businesses that form the backbone of local, national and global economies.

While the headlines are often dominated by multinational corporations, it is the UK's small businesses that quietly keep communities thriving. From family-run shops and independent cafés to innovative technology start-ups, skilled tradespeople and specialist manufacturers, micro, small and medium-sized enterprises make an enormous contribution to employment, innovation and economic growth.

In the UK alone, small businesses account for the overwhelming majority of all private sector firms. Many are run by passionate entrepreneurs who have turned an idea into a successful enterprise through determination, hard work and a willingness to take risks.

These businesses create jobs, develop new products and services, support local supply chains and often provide a more personal level of customer service than larger organisations can offer. They are also quick to adapt to changing consumer habits, embracing new technology, flexible working and online trading opportunities.

However, running a small business is rarely easy.

Many owners continue to face rising operating costs, increased energy prices, recruitment challenges, changing regulations and ongoing economic uncertainty. Access to finance, cybersecurity, digital transformation and artificial intelligence are also becoming increasingly important issues for businesses of every size.

Yet despite these challenges, Britain's entrepreneurs continue to demonstrate remarkable resilience. Across every sector, business owners are finding creative ways to grow, improve efficiency and reach new customers both at home and overseas.

Micro-, Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises Day is therefore more than just a date on the calendar. It is a reminder of the vital role these businesses play in building prosperous communities and driving future economic success.

At That's Business, we're proud to shine a spotlight on organisations of every size. Whether it's reporting on exciting new product launches, innovative technologies, leadership appointments, sustainability initiatives or inspiring entrepreneurial success stories, we're committed to celebrating the people behind Britain's business community.

So today, if you know someone who runs a small business, take a moment to support them. Buy from them, recommend them, leave a positive review or simply share their story. Small actions can make a big difference.

Here's to the entrepreneurs, innovators and independent businesses that help keep Britain's economy moving forward—today on MSME Day and every day of the year.

AI Isn't Failing Businesses – Why UK Companies Need to Rethink AI ROI

AI Isn't Failing Businesses – Expectations Are.

Three-quarters of UK businesses now use AI, but only 31% report positive ROI. Discover why the issue may be expectations rather than the technology itself.

Artificial intelligence has rapidly become part of everyday business operations across the UK. From customer service chatbots to content creation tools, organisations of all sizes are embracing AI in the hope of boosting efficiency and profitability.

Yet new research suggests many businesses are struggling to see the returns they expected.

A survey of 500 senior decision-makers conducted by Studio Graphene found that over three-quarters of UK businesses are now using AI tools. 

However, only 31% reported seeing a positive return on investment, while fewer than half could clearly define what success from AI would actually look like.

At first glance, those figures might suggest AI is underperforming. But some industry experts believe the real problem lies elsewhere.

According to Angus Hay, CEO and Founder of Edinburgh-based AI agency Vereus, businesses may simply be measuring the wrong things.

Many organisations adopt AI with the expectation that it will directly increase sales, win new customers or generate additional revenue. While AI can certainly support these goals, Hay argues that its greatest value often comes from something far less glamorous: removing time-consuming administrative tasks from employees' workloads.

In many businesses, highly skilled professionals spend significant portions of their week on reporting, compliance, research, data gathering and other repetitive tasks. While necessary, these activities rarely generate revenue directly.

This is where AI can make a genuine difference.

Rather than replacing people, AI can automate many of these routine processes, freeing employees to focus on work that creates real value. More time can be spent serving customers, developing products, building relationships and driving growth.

Vereus has seen this approach deliver impressive results. One investment firm reportedly reduced a six-day intelligence-gathering process to less than two minutes. A rental business reclaimed nearly two weeks of manual reporting time during each reporting cycle, while a telecommunications company cut expansion costs by over £30,000 per month.

In each case, AI wasn't generating income directly. Instead, it was creating additional capacity for people to perform at their best.

Interestingly, separate research from KPMG suggests that 65% of UK businesses plan to continue investing in AI regardless of whether they can currently demonstrate a clear return on investment.

That may be because many business leaders instinctively recognise AI's potential, even if traditional ROI measurements fail to capture its true value.

Perhaps the most important question businesses should ask isn't "What will AI earn?" but rather "What could our people achieve if AI gave them more time to do what they do best?"

https://www.vereus.co.uk