With National Apprenticeship Week taking place recently in early March, PBM considers some of the stories which focus on merchant businesses’ approach to investing in apprenticeships.
Builders Merchant Company (BMCo)
BMCo is continuing to support the ongoing development of young people with the appointment of two additional apprentices to the company joining its branches in Hull and Rotherham. Internal development is embedded into the culture of the business, and within the last three years it has had four candidates complete apprenticeships, of which three have successfully attained full time roles within the BMCo family with the fourth leaving to continue work within the construction industry.
The ongoing development of apprentices is mirrored by the recent launch of a Graduate Programme, whilst further plans are being explored to continue to support the development of existing staff within the company.
MD Duncan Thomson said: “We are very proud of the work we are doing to try and attract people to join the merchant industry, and to be able to help these young people achieve their goals and develop a career path for themselves is something we take great pride in.”
Building Supplies Online
Whilst its business model may be somewhat different to ‘traditional’ merchants, the appointment of Jack Harper in December last year as Building Supplies Online’s first digital marketing apprentice highlights the diversity of roles and career paths for apprentices within the sector. At the end of the two year apprenticeship, Jack will have achieved accreditations and qualifications from globally recognised bodies including the Chartered Institute of Marketing and Google.
And as an ecommerce company whose success is reliant on good digital skills, the initiative enables BSO to proactively develop its own talent for the future and support young local job seekers.
During National Apprenticeship Week, the company took part in the #BlazeATrail social media challenge with Jack and his manager, Head of Marketing Louise Austin, sharing their insights and outlining the benefits for potential apprentices and employers alike.
Pick up the thread on Twitter @BuildingandDIY.
Buildbase
Having successfully delivered apprenticeship and training services to Grafton Group for the past two years, Interserve Learning & Employment is to deliver the Buildbase ‘Building for Your FutureAcademy’ for staff across it 165 branches nationwide. The programme has been designed to ensure that employees have access to a scheme which will support learners’ career progression from sales advisor through to store managers and even into regional roles.
Adrian Rowley, Learning & Development Manager at Buildbase, said: “We are making a significant investment in our colleagues because we believe that by doing so we are increasing our capability as people, as teams and as a business.
“The Building for Your Future programme is built around the way Buildbase actually works. We’ve designed it from a day-to-day view, so learners have real-life training for a real-life role — that’s what’s so great about the programme.”
Jennifer Munslow, National Strategic Account Manager, Senior Training Development Officer at Interserve, said: “The apprenticeship programme will create the next generation of the company’s management professionals to ensure Buildbase continues to deliver the best customer experience.”
“We are making a significant investment in our colleagues because we believe that by doing so we are increasing our capability as people, as teams and as a business.” Adrian Rowley, Learning & Development Manager at Buildbase
Travis Perkins
With approximately 28,000 employees across more than 20 businesses and 2,000+ branches, stores and sites, providing ‘standardised’ training was a key requirement for Travis Perkins. Instead of relying on external training providers, the Group applied to become an Employer Provider — an organisation able to deliver its own apprenticeship training in-house.
It received its certification in October 2017 and, in the process, became the first ever builders’ merchant in Britain to achieve that status. Since then, with the support of approved end-point assessment organisation Occupational Awards Limited (OAL), TP says that its apprentices and staff have achieved impressive pass rates: 35 employees have completed their apprenticeships, with almost 70% achieving a merit or better and more than 50% achieving a distinction, the highest mark possible.
Furthermore, significant success is reported to have been seen in training employees to become members of the company’s management team.
The Apprenticeship Management Group
Looking after the apprenticeship training programmes and apprenticeship levy for the Builders Merchants Federation, Electrical Distributors Association and British Coating Federation amongst others, the Apprenticeship Management Group used National Apprenticeship Week to unveil its nationwide search for the best apprentices and employers.
Looking to find “the people that make a difference in the workplace,” MD John Henry explained: “We look after a number of federations and organisations but we want to open this competition to not just those; we are looking for the best apprentices out there and we want to recognise their personal achievements and contributions to their employer businesses.”
The categories are: Apprentice Champion of the Year, Employer of the Year, Advanced Apprentice of the Year, Intermediate Apprentice of the Year and Rising Star of the Year.
A shortlist will be announced in May with the Awards taking place in August. To enter, or for more information about the general support available from the organisation, email info@theapprenticeshipgroup.co.uk
