This year our Homecare Apprenticeship Toolkits have been shortlisted in the Travis Perkins Social Value Awards.
Social value is the impact our actions and services have on wider economic, social and environmental areas. Social value is extremely important to our organisation and the communities we serve, it helps us understand the impact we have on our customers lives where it can’t be measured in monetary terms.
Our apprenticeships aim to provide local employment and economic opportunities for people in our communities. Through the Social value fund we have been able to provide our apprentices with toolkits which include essentials like cutters, pliers, and screwdrivers. These toolkits provide our apprentices the equipment they need to do their job and gain the experiences required for their qualifications.
With support like this at every step of the way, apprentices are able to gain practice and confidence more quickly, allowing them to save up for larger tools required for the job. It also takes the pressure off mentors who may lend them their own personal tools or even buy their apprentices tools out of their own pocket.
Providing the toolkits makes it more likely that the apprentices will be able to finish their apprenticeship and gain their qualification. They are then likely to apply and be offered a permanent position with our organisation, allowing us to ‘grow our own’ local trades team.
We spoke to one of our recent Apprentices at Yeovil, Jack, a T-Level electrician.
“Having access to a range of my own tools has massively benefited me in being able to complete tasks and help my mentors when repairing electrical installations.
“This toolkit means that I can carry my own tools on me when we carry out jobs without the need to ask and borrow tools from the electrician I'm paired with. As well as help during my placement, having access to quality tools has been a great help for me in carrying out practical task in college, removing the need to wait for tools to become free.
“Overall, the toolkit has made carrying out work on my placement and study in college a smoother experience.
“Having the opportunity to have your own toolkit has benefited me in many ways as a gas engineer apprentice.”
We ask our suppliers to "give something back" by way of a social value return. It’s how we use our buying power to generate additional support for our customers and communities.
£7,130 of social value funding has been provided by Travis Perkins to supply new Abri apprentices with the starter toolkits. Since 2023 we’ve supported 13 apprentices through the Social Value Fund.
Click through here If you're interested in an apprenticeship with Abri.
Or, if you’d like to know the more about Social Value Find out more here.