Being curious is one of our key values, and that’s why we love apprenticeships. We’re passionate about creating opportunities for people to thrive, in their lives and in their careers. We believe apprenticeships are one of the best ways to do that. Not only do they help you learn valuable skills, but they also allow you to gain experience while earning a salary!
We’re proud to currently have 44 apprentices across our Repairs and Maintenance teams, including ten who are now on their second skilled apprenticeship. All have a skilled trade operative mentor to guide their learning and provide support along the way and we also have a dedicated Apprenticeship role to provide pastoral support and liaise with the colleges.
So far, 26 apprentices have completed their programmes, including one colleague who upskilled from a labourer role.
Of those who completed their apprenticeships:
- 22 (85%) secured employment with us
- four (15%) found roles elsewhere after successfully completing their training
We’re also proud of the diversity within our apprentice community:
- eight are women
- five are customers
- nine are 25+ years old
Our apprentices are a vital part of our future. Developing talent in-house means we can shape colleagues who live our values and deliver excellent service to our customers. It also helps us when we look at industry skills gaps, for example with electricians. We currently have 12 electrical apprentices who we are hoping to welcome to permanent employment on completion of their courses.
Our customers seem to love seeing our apprentices, and have fed back on satisfaction surveys to say:
“It was great to see a young apprentice showing an interest in learning the trade.”
“Apprentice done a great job. Very pleased and polite. She will make a great addition to the team.”
“Trade had an apprentice with him and was very thorough in explaining what had to be done."
Zoë Collingwood-Dane
Head of Central Support Services
To find out more about our apprenticeships and for regular updates on vacancies, check out our apprenticeships.
