When I hired my first apprentice four years ago, I was terrified. I offered £8 per hour—barely above the legal minimum—and they accepted. Six months in, they’d built a new CRM system that saved me 10 hours a week. I felt like a fraud for underpaying genius. The next year, I raised it to £13, and they stayed for another year, eventually becoming a full-time hire.
The truth is, you are not just paying for labor. You are paying for potential, loyalty, and the chance to shape someone’s career. That is priceless. But a fair wage is the entry ticket to that relationship. Pay too little, and you get a transactional relationship. Pay well—relative to your means and local norms—and you get a partner in your journey.
In daily life, this applies everywhere. The barista who remembers your order, the gardener who knows your soil, the kid who helps your grandfather with his phone—they all deserve to be valued fairly. Apprentices aren’t cheap labor. They are the future of your industry, wearing yesterday’s hoodie and asking the right questions. Pay them like it.
