Building the Future of Employers - National Apprenticeship Week
This year to celebrate National Apprenticeship Week we have asked employers to share the benefits of apprenticeships to their business. As the theme this year is ‘Build the Future’ we are aiming to focus on how apprenticeships can help build businesses for years to come, and highlight how they fill skills gaps, upskill and revitalise workforces.
At LSP we work with a range of amazing employers who offer fantastic opportunities for our learners, allowing them to achieve a bright future in their chosen career path. We have received so many incredible insights into how apprenticeships work for businesses which can be found below!
“Our apprentices are our workforce of the future. Apprenticeships are a great route for undertaking qualifications for individual's who may not wish to follow the traditional 'university route'. It gives them valuable workplace experience as well as the underpinning knowledge and skills. During the pandemic our apprentices have been flexible and adaptable to the changing needs of the service and ways of working, and always willing to go that extra mile with a smile. Our apprentices are a valuable part of our team.”
“It's great to work with engaged providers such as The Learning Skills Partnership; they understand our organisations needs whilst supporting and nurturing our apprentices in acquiring the skills and knowledge they need to build a successful future career.”
Ruth Machado
Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust
“We have a good number of Apprentices within the business, weighed heavily towards Engineering, however we are recruiting a large amount within other areas. We are the market leader and largest crane hire company in the UK, therefore we have the most experienced and knowledgeable team in the industry. This means our apprentices get world-class on-the-job training which is well recognised by the industry. We also have a number of other apprentices across the business within HR and Procurement. Throughout the pandemic, our HR apprentice has been in the thick of it processing Furlough and dealing with other HR-related issues surrounding the pandemic. We are now recruiting 18 mobile crane operator apprentices, giving people a fantastic opportunity to gain all the relevant qualifications alongside receiving world class training. We are also recruiting an IT apprentice and 3 Digital Engineering apprentices - a real investment in the next generation!”
Alex Rose
Ainscough Crane Hire
“I believe that Apprenticeships are extremely beneficial to both the learner and the organisation. It enables the learners to gain both paper based and hands on knowledge whilst earning a wage. They are able to practice what they are learning whist receiving coaching and mentoring from team members which creates a strong learning process and enables them to develop skills quickly that the organisation needs.”
Leanne Jewell
NT Killingley Ltd
“We have invested in apprentices for the past 11 years since we formed as a new start up, they have essentially allowed us to grow our business. Forming from a standing start meant it was difficult to bring staff in and pay them at the prevailing rate. The break in staffing costs was very helpful to the outgoings of the business. As importantly we can bring people into the business who could grow and develop in line with businesses growth and development. By investing in apprentices and giving them the mentorship and support required this was then reciprocated making for a committed and dedicated member of the team, I would go as far as saying they form the backbone of our operation.
As an example, our current Reservations Manager started 8 year ago as an apprentice and still has a long and healthy future with us.
These people will give back there is no doubt, but you must ensure you invest in them to start with this makes for a harmonious win / win working relationship.
I would encourage people to look at the various programmes out there, they work, and our business is proof of one that is thriving as a result.
Every journey is made that much better when you are accompanied by someone.”Matt Carter
Indigo Car Hire and Van Hire Ltd
0113 2899 281
Web : www.indigocarhire.co.uk
“Here at Pentagon Motor Group, we are avid supporters of growing our own talent. Not only do we offer new opportunities for those leaving education, we also support and promote our current employees to take on apprenticeship qualifications themselves, to improve their current skills. We are continuously looking for new Apprentices to join our teams across the group. Our apprentices are always guaranteed permanent employment on completion of their apprenticeship with us, as their knowledge of the company and their skills that they have learnt and developed on the job is priceless to us. Employees that have begun their careers with us, are highly motivated and committed to keeping our core values and continuing to keep our business a profitable success. By nurturing young talents through their apprenticeship, it creates a loyalty to the brand, and an engaged workforce.
Apprentices are key to our business' future. Many of you may be aware that their has a skill shortage, particularly within vehicle workshops. By offering apprenticeships, we are sustaining and future-proofing a skilled workforce, which has proved invaluable during the recent pandemic. Some of our apprentices, past or present, have been involved in ensuring the vehicles of key workers are kept on the road, including police cars and paramedic response vehicles. Apprentices are key to ensuring that our workforces remain fully skilled and operational for future generations to come.
The pandemic has been tough for everybody, but many of our apprentices have continued working and learning virtually, to ensure our 5 core values are still met, and our customers remain satisfied and keep returning. I am very proud of our current apprentices, they have helped keep team moral high and supported the business by ensuring that they do everything they can to support revenue income during this difficult year, and, as some of them near the end of their qualifications, I am hopeful that they pass on their knowledge to a new intake of school leavers.”Danni Millington
Pentagon Motor Group
“Apprenticeships are very Valuable to our Business's needs as they bring a fresh new outlook and are coachable which is great for young people to learn our Trade. My Apprentice has learnt to adapt through the Pandemic in terms of liaising with team Members/Mentors virtually which has grown his confidence in many ways. Apprenticeships are vital for any Company to secure the Businesses future growth as it creates their trade for them and their families and also keeps the Business running for years to come with their knowledge and training being given so young.”
Louise Ramage
Synthetic Turf Management Ltd
“At ASSA ABLOY Opening Solutions UK and Ireland, we are passionate and invested in our people. We understand that it’s our diverse workforce that makes us the global leaders in access solutions. Early Talent has a significant role in our organisation and we recognise that apprenticeships are not only a fantastic way to kick-start a career, but they also bring with them valuable benefits to our teams.
Let’s talk about the dreaded word ‘COVID-19’ – for most of us the pandemic has affected our daily and working lives in one way or another. We are extremely proud to say that all of our apprentices have stepped up to the challenges faced including working from home, digitally participating in courses, whilst still offering support to their teams. For most of our apprentices this has meant adapting to new ways of working, taking on new responsibilities and diving into new projects.
Our apprentices are spread across multiple disciplines and business units, which brings a vast amount of benefits from both a team and organisation perspectives. Apprentices are the future of ASSA ABLOY, they contribute innovative ideas and help to fill skill gaps within our teams. This contribution of fresh knowledge, skills and new ways of working leads to the development of new best practices and also helps to keep our organisation agile and constantly moving. All of our apprentices are a key asset to their teams as they complement the existing skills and knowledge of their team members. This combination enables us to think outside the box and implement efficient, effective and positive changes.
‘Building the future’ is a fantastic way to describe the career development journey at ASSA ABLOY. We encourage apprentices to continue their development through internal and external development opportunities, as we want our apprentices to have a long and prosperous career with us.
To celebrate our apprentices, throughout National Apprenticeship week we will be showcasing our apprentices and what they have achieved so far. We are also pleased to share that our 2021 ‘Apprentice of the Year’ will be announced for our NAW2021 finale!
Despite the challenges faced by COVID-19, we have continued to focus our efforts on providing opportunities for apprentices to ‘open the door to their career’. Most of us now are communicating virtually via ‘Microsoft Teams or Skype’ and where possible we have revamped our recruitment processes to ensure those looking to start an apprentice still have the opportunity to do so, this includes submitting video CV’s, participating in virtual careers fairs and conducting online interviews.
We look forward to celebrating National Apprenticeship Week - Apprentices are rising stars and leaders of the future.”Beth Thacker
ASSA ABLOY Opening Solutions UK and Ireland
“Here at James Burrell Builders Merchants, we have always held the value of an apprentice extremely highly. The opportunity to allow someone to begin their career, to develop and create such a positive impact on the company where they have learnt their craft. This is one of the reasons why we invest in our apprenticeship programmes year on year, enabling us to continue to look towards the future of our workforce. Training apprentices within the business allows us to create a strong workforce for the future, allowing them to learn from some of our longest serving staff members who have a wealth of hands on experience to share. The core company values are something that all apprentices learn when joining the company and they carry them through their whole career with us. Allowing our workforce to be a true representation of what James Burrell Builders Merchants truly is.”
Rebecca Lambert
James Burrell Builders Merchants
“Apprentices are the key to Motus Commercials future, not just during the last difficult year but every year! With an industry wide skills gap, and technological advancements in automotives; our young people bring a passion for learning, developing knowledge and becoming the experts in our field to support those industry changes for many years to come. Employing apprentices every year ensures we have a talent pipeline in place to futureproof our business, closing the skills gap and maintaining our position in the UK commercial vehicle industry.
Apprenticeship qualifications not only provide the opportunity for young people to kickstart their career with Motus Commercials, but also provide valuable and fulfilling training opportunities to all our employees, supporting continuous professional development and meeting personal aspirations.”Sarah Bardens
Motus Commercials
“C1 Align is committed to delivering its EDI, employment and skills legacy in the local community and recruiting, supporting and retaining our apprentices is key to that objective. Our involvement with Apprenticeships during the pandemic has helped us improve access to, and promote the uptake of, a wider range of apprenticeship training programmes. This will in turn will support us achieve our target for apprenticeships and assist us with developing our workforce and our apprentices.”
Steve Roberts
Align
“LAT has a long history of supporting young people to make their first steps into the world of work and apprenticeships are an ideal way of doing this. We are a small charity, but are able to offer a range of different roles to allow each individual apprentice to pursue their areas of interest. We have good links with our apprenticeship provider to ensure each individual remains on track with their learning, as well as an internal support structure in place to assist each individual to flourish.”
Alison Goddard
Lincolnshire Action Trust
“Apprenticeships are vital to Clancy so we can ensure we have a consistent pipeline of talent entering the industry and that we are future proofing against skills gaps. Construction and utilities is an innovative and growing industry and apprentices will help support that growth. We are also maximising our levy by upskilling employees in the business and are working with Learning Skills Partnership for our Level 4 Associate Project Manager apprenticeships. We are expanding our relationship even further as LSP will be supporting us with Level 3 Business Administration programmes.”
Clare Oliver
Clancy
We would like to say a huge thank you to everyone who took part and made a submission. It is great to hear how much of a positive impact apprenticeships are having on the employers we work with!