"engaged in doing exactly the same job" Doing exactly the same job, at the same level of skill and experience? Is someone who has just started work with NO knowledge and experience doing exactly the same job as someone who has been doing it for ten years and gained skill and responsibility?
You have said that the people you recruit already have knowledge and experience, so they are ready to do the same work. The apprentices that Gillybob speaks of begin with no knowledge, no experience. They are attending classes for part of the week, and working (at a low skill and knowledge level) the other part of the week. They are not doing the same job as established workers, nor have the same productivity. The business pays them for a week's work while only receiving part of the benefit of employing them, and also has added costs connected with their study course (Gilly may give more details on that.) and with spending time on teaching them the practical part of the job. Once they are trained they are free to go and work elsewhere, so there is little longterm reward.
Education of any sort has advantages to the person being taught, (which could be seen as part of the pay of apprenticeship) and, in a business, costs of time and missed earnings to the person teaching. Taking on an apprentice is an expensive undertaking, and if it gets TOO expensive, fewer firms will undertake it and national skill levels drop.