Travis Perkins has launched the UK’s first virtual Bathroom Designer Apprenticeship. This is a new addition to the company’s 38-strong apprenticeship offering.
It has been developed to help individuals of any sales background, to be able to provide a virtual bathroom design service for customers, on the back of a strong recovery in demand across the domestic renovation, maintenance and improvement markets.
So far, 20 colleagues, the majority of them new recruits, have registered for this new Level 3 Apprenticeship in Furniture Design, which is equivalent to two A-Level Passes, and which in addition to product training, covers CAD design, customer service, creativity and further sales management skills.
Head of Apprenticeships at Travis Perkins plc, Andy Rayner, explained: “Unlike most employers, we are an accredited provider. As with over half of our 38 apprenticeship programmes, we will deliver this exciting new programme in-house. We pride ourselves on providing a full range of apprenticeships ‘from the branch counter to the Boardroom’ and the Bathroom Designer programme will be a fantastic addition to our comprehensive suite. From a talent management perspective, this also means we’re able to use these programmes to help create our own pipeline of managers and specialists, and ensure we develop a more diverse workforce for the future, which our recent BAME Apprenticeship Award* wins demonstrate.”
During the pandemic, the company’s Learning & Development Team used the opportunity to transform the current programmes so they could be delivered remotely, as part of the company’s continued commitment to colleagues during the pandemic. This achievement was recently recognised by The Chartered Management Institute which presented Travis Perkins with a 2020 CMI President’s Award for Outstanding Innovation and Delivery of the Year.
“So far this year we have invested over £2m into our Apprenticeship Programmes, and thanks to the skills, creativity and determination of the Learning & Development team, we have been able to continue to deliver on all of our programmes during the pandemic, as part of our commitment to colleagues. We also used the lockdown to stress the benefits of taking up an apprenticeship programme, and as a result, over 100 colleagues voluntarily registered for a programme whilst on furlough,” Andy continued.
Travis Perkins first became an apprenticeship employer in 2012, accredited under the Apprenticeship Levy since 2017, and since then, 436 colleagues have graduated. At present, the company has 560 colleagues enrolled on these programmes across the Group.
