Notes and news

Citation

Pollitt, D. (2015), "Notes and news", Industrial and Commercial Training, Vol. 47 No. 5. https://doi.org/10.1108/ICT-04-2015-0028

Notes and news

Article Type: Notes and news From: Industrial and Commercial Training, Volume 47, Issue 5.

Kwik Fit announces 200 new apprenticeships

Vehicle servicing and repair company Kwik Fit is offering 200 new apprenticeships at its centers across the UK.

Most of the two-year apprenticeships are available to 16-18 year olds, providing the first step on a career in the automotive sector. Kwik Fit has trained more than 1,800 people under its current apprenticeship program. Over the last 15 years the scheme has consistently seen higher success rates than the national average, with many participants progressing to senior levels in the company.

Kwik Fit has a flexible approach to apprenticeships, offering candidates routes into both management and technical careers. As well as developing a wide range of technical skills, the program works to improve candidates’ mathematics, English and personal skills.

Paul Binks, head of learning and development at Kwik Fit, said: “Apprentices are crucial to our business as they develop into our future leaders”. We make a huge investment in our learning and development program and deliver more than 18,000 training days a year through our training academies:

Our apprentices are appointed to permanent roles and receive a mixture of classroom theory, workshop practice and on-the-job coaching. This gives them a major advantage over those following a purely classroom-based course and enables them to quickly develop the right skills for a long-term career.

Kwik Fit has four training academies, in Derby, Harlow, Reading and Broxburn. A Kwik Fit apprenticeship provides 91 learning credits. This favorably compares with the minimum requirement of 60 learning credits delivered in a typical equivalent course carried out in a college.

NG Bailey increases apprenticeship places by 200 percent

Apprenticeship places at NG Bailey will increase by around 200 percent this year as the engineering, IT and facilities-services business strives to meet the demand for opportunities.

The company received more than 1,800 applications for apprenticeships across 13 specialisms – ranging from electrical engineering to quantity surveying – within weeks of opening the scheme for this year’s applications.

Apprentices currently make up more than 5 percent of NG Bailey’s workforce. More than 5,500 people have joined the scheme since it started in 1934. They include school and college leavers as well as those looking for a career change. A number of the company’s directors and senior managers started out as apprentices with NG Bailey.

Frank Clayton, head of group learning and development, explained: “We are proud of our apprenticeship program and its strong reputation in the industry”. This is one of the biggest intakes in our history, and from the number of applications so far we can see more than ever how much interest there is for apprenticeships as a starting point in a great career:

We have noticed a shift in the way young people are approaching their careers. Science, technology, engineering and mathematics careers can provide great job security, with technical apprenticeships offering a solid start in industry. We have always felt that this is a two-way process - apprentices play a vital role in our company and our business benefits from working with them.

The vacancies are across the business, including in electrical, heating and ventilation and plumbing, as well as newer schemes in quantity surveying and higher apprenticeships in procurement. NG Bailey invests more than £3 million annually in its four-year apprenticeships and employee training and development.

The company has launched a number of initiatives recently aimed at boosting the popularity of science-based subjects, increasing apprenticeship numbers and attracting more women to the construction industry. Over the last five years, it has exceeded the national average for the number of female apprentices completing programs in both construction trades and engineering.

David Hurcomb, chief executive at NG Bailey, said: “We are proud to say that we have remained committed to our apprenticeship program, even during the recent tough climate”. We recognize the value in giving young people the opportunity to earn while they train. Not only will it benefit our business, it will benefit overall growth and skills in our industries:

As a nation, we need to help young people to get excited by science, technology, engineering and mathematics if we are going to address our skill shortages. This has to happen in schools as well as through apprenticeship schemes.

As part of this commitment to engage young people, the company has also developed a new schools program, Inspire. Although in its infancy, it has engaged with more than 500 young people in Leeds and Manchester, helping them to get involved in projects that bring to life the breadth of career options available in construction.

With plans to roll-out the initiative to 12 schools nationally within the next four years, NG Bailey hopes it will encourage participants to seek out construction options at college or university, or apply for an apprenticeship.

Restaurant scoops equality prize

An east London restaurant that specialises in giving training and apprenticeship opportunities to people with learning disabilities has scooped an award for equality and inclusion.

Unity Kitchen Café, based in the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, picked up the prize at the annual London Legacy Development Corporation apprenticeship awards. It recognizes the way the restaurant has developed new ways to enable disabled people to start their career as apprentices. Along the way it has far exceeded industry norms, with apprentices accounting for 16 percent of its workforce and people with learning disabilities accounting for 40 percent of the team.

Unity Kitchen’s social enterprise service manager, Amy McParland, commented: “Giving opportunities to people with learning difficulties to get into the world of catering and hospitality is what we are all about. It is a huge boost to everyone at Unity Kitchen Café – and all of our other outlets – to win recognition for the way we go about it. We are proud not just of winning this award, but also to be contributing to the legacy of the 2012 London Olympic Games through the training, apprenticeship and job opportunities we are helping to create.”

Motor-industry chief calls for big pay increase for apprentices

The leader of the motor industry professional body, IMI, has called on employers to consider increasing the starting salary for apprentices by more than 70 percent to compete with academic careers.

Steve Nash, chief executive of the Institute of the Motor Industry, explained that return-on-investment research demonstrates that most companies could increase starting salaries from the legal minimum set by government of £2.73-£4.73 per hour without loss of profitability. Addressing senior business figures at the IMI annual dinner he explained that the changing landscape in academic and vocational education means that the motor industry will need to place a premium on its apprenticeships if it is to succeed in attracting the best young talent.

Steve Nash said: “The industry is telling us that it struggles to attract the highest quality school leavers into training to help to overcome the technological challenges it faces over the next decade. This demand cannot be met while the industry continues to pay apprentices the legal minimum of £2.73 per hour across the board.”

“The education system is now totally geared up to keep young people in school until they are 18 and push them toward university.” Meanwhile, young people no longer have access to careers advisors who might send them down a vocational route since the service was reorganized in 2012. This puts industry at a disadvantage:

The pool of available young people to go into apprenticeships is set to shrink dramatically despite the election promises we have heard from all the parties. Industry must take action independently.

To offset arguments against raising pay on economic grounds, the IMI has produced evidence to show the motor industry can easily cope with a £2 per-hour rise in the starting salary for apprentices.

Using a model developed by Dr Paul Spear in a government-funded study, the IMI calculates the return on employer investment from a well recruited and productive apprentice, with a starting salary of £4.73, will still be on average 130 percent on sold hours alone.

Pension executives get lessons in leadership

The UK National Association of Pension Funds (NAPF) and the University of Chicago Booth School of Business (Chicago Booth) have teamed up to deliver a leadership program for senior executives in the pensions industry.

The two-day course combines conceptual knowledge and academic theory with practical application. Participants develop the skills required for successful leadership, learn the hidden biases that can limit communication and develop effective strategies and systemic approaches to decision making. On completion participants receive a certificate of achievement from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business and the NAPF Academy.

Joanne Segars, NAPF chief executive, commented: “There has been an overwhelming volume of change in pensions over the last few years – from the introduction of automatic enrollment to the new pension freedoms implemented in April – and developing the skills and talents of the individuals that will lead this change is integral to the success of these reforms and our sector:

The NAPF academy provides the highest quality pension training and learning opportunities for trustees and pension professionals, and this innovative and exciting initiative provides an excellent addition to our extensive portfolio of training. It is the only course available that has been designed specifically for senior executives in pensions and we look forward to working with Chicago Booth to bring its expertise to the pensions sector.

Arnold Longboy, managing director of executive education (Europe, the Middle East, Africa and the Asia-Pacific) at Chicago Booth, said: “We are pleased to be teaming up with the NAPF to provide this new professional-development opportunity for senior executives in the pension industry. The UK pension industry has multiple stakeholders and suppliers and even the most technically-skilled managers must be able to collaborate and motivate scheme sponsors, trustees, suppliers, colleagues and teams. By improving their decision-making, senior executives can be more intentional with strategy and less reliant on intuition.”

London boroughs team up to offer legal-services apprenticeship

The University of Law (ULaw) has announced that a number of London boroughs will be the first organizations to offer its legal-services higher apprenticeships, giving greater opportunities to the next generation of aspiring legal workers and allowing them to earn while they study for their legal qualification.

The announcement reflects ULaw’s commitment to supporting a range of apprenticeships as an alternative path into law, promoting greater access to and diversity within the profession. A total of ten apprenticeships will be offered by London boroughs including Harrow and Barnet, Hillingdon and Islington.

Technical training and the completion of Chartered Institute of Legal Executives qualifications will be combined with on-the-job learning. Apprentices will receive one day per week of formal learning at ULaw’s Bloomsbury center with teaching from tutors at City and Islington College, a partner further-education college of ULaw. On the other days students will work in the legal-services departments at their local authority.

Apprentices will be evaluated through a mixture of on-the-job performance and academic assessments, all designed to develop the skills and qualities that future employers are looking for and the apprentices will need to succeed.

John Latham, president and chief executive of ULaw, said: “It is great to have London boroughs on board. We are passionate about widening access to support those whose ambition it is to work in the law and we have created an ambitious plan to deliver on this. We are very excited to be helping the apprentices in taking the first steps of their careers.”

Rajesh Alagh, borough solicitor, London Borough of Hillingdon, said: “We are pleased to be working with the University of Law on this exciting new apprenticeship. The council’s legal-apprenticeship scheme has already been a great success with apprentices showing great enthusiasm and dedication so we are pleased to be able to extend this through our partnership with ULaw for another two years. It will enable our apprentices to progress to a higher-level apprenticeship (level 4), which is the equivalent to the first year of an undergraduate degree. This is a fantastic opportunity for them to develop essential work-based skills while studying for a nationally recognized qualification with the UK’s largest law school.”

Travel retailer centralizes its store of knowledge

The Zurich-based travel retailer, Nuance, is using the internet to centralize knowledge in the company and make it available as and when required.

Nuance, which employs more than 6,100 people worldwide and serves over 31 million traveling customers a year, operates retail outlets spanning more than 60 locations in 18 countries and territories across the globe. In addition to a number of duty and tax-free stores, brand boutiques and concept stores – covering some 73,000 square meters – the company also provides in-flight services and operates a wholesale and distribution business, supporting the travel retail sector.

Nuance had made many attempts in the past to develop a single learning library and a unique knowledge repository. The result was that the knowledge and training material had been compiled in different formats, with different tools and stored in different repositories. Moreover, it was difficult to update all the different libraries and ensure that they all had the most current, appropriate information.

The HR department’s search for the answer to the challenge of minimizing training time and improving getting new staff up-to-speed quickly led it to the Docebo learning-management system.

Claudio Erba, Docebo chief executive, commented: “Nuance’s employees come from different countries and work in a range of locations around the world. This makes organizing regular classroom-delivered training extremely difficult, labor-intensive and expensive. As Nuance has discovered, the more effective alternative is a learning-management system that helps to build a single, always up-to-date knowledge repository and delivers its various learning materials online to learners around the world.”

Portus opens the door to graduate trainees

Portus Consulting, the specialist employee-benefits consultancy, is committing to long-term expansion with the launch of a graduate-trainee academy.

Graduates will be trained across the full range of employee benefits as well as on additional skills to develop the expertise needed for particular industry sectors, including the legal sector where Portus Consulting has a strong and growing market share.

Adam Riley, director of business development, said: “We have developed the graduate-trainee academy in order to recruit high-caliber graduates who can build a career in the employee-benefits profession. We will provide intensive training and support to enable individuals to play an integral role in Portus and expand their experience and expertise across the business to support our clients and growth plans.”

Portus Consulting works for more than 160 corporate clients including global multinationals and small to medium-size companies. It focusses on providing strategic advice as well as benefit broking. Its affiliated business, Portus Online, designs, builds and manages online programs which aim to increase employee engagement.

Asons Solicitors introduces training by video

Asons Solicitors of Greater Manchester has introduced training through videos in which key members of staff explain processes and practices to an audience of employees.

The videos can be accessed at any time on the business’s intranet system. In the videos, the trainer gives a presentation to the team which is captured on a high-definition camcorder, mounted on a tripod.

Asons has now produced 25 videos using 15 different presenters that span the range of disciplines at the firm, including pre-litigation, costs, litigation, accounts and client services. Topics such as case management, use of the electronic-documents system and preparing for trial are among those covered. Each video is edited after being filmed to ensure that it is accurate, clear and jargon free.

Sarah Ainscough, head of HR, recognized that Asons is staffed with employees that have different knowledge levels and that training had to be tailored to suit those at beginner, intermediate or advanced levels. Training modules were created to suit workers at any stage and to be relevant to the workloads of each person. There are now 300 modules to choose from.

“Some modules are practical, giving hands-on experience, while others are about sharing best practice and are knowledge-based.” We also use complex legal cases as examples during the training. The training’s worthiness is assessed right after through tests featuring multiple-choice questions, ensuring that employees listen to the presentations:

We believe in creating a training culture where training is continuously accessible not just off the floor, but as a practical element also. Each employee receives 90 minutes of structured guidance each week. By raising our abilities, the client receives a superior experience in terms of communications, technical ability and the interpretation of the law.

Chef has the ingredients for being a top mentor

Matthew Parsons, executive chef at EEF Venues’ Woodland Grange conference center in Leamington Spa, has been named Mentor of the Year in the People First national apprenticeship awards.

He was short-listed with Rhiannon Ball, from the Lancaster London Hotel, and was selected as winner because of his outstanding work in mentoring and developing young people at the Warwickshire venue. He has mentored six apprentices to date at Woodland Grange, two of whom are now full-time staff members at the venue.

His nominator, David Vaughton, director of venues for EEF Venues, said: “We feel proud of Matthew for gaining such national recognition.” For Matthew, there are no short-cuts as consistent quality is everything.Do it well, do it right is his mantra, so he instils high standards in his apprentices from the outset:

Some 95 percent of our food served at Woodland Grange is made from scratch by our brigade – a tangible indication of the training apprentices receive in classical culinary skills and methods such as how to make a classic roux, how to skin and bone a fish and make a consommé.

Matthew Parsons said: “I am very proud of this award as it is embodies my belief in training and developing the next generation of chefs. It is wonderful to be acknowledged in this way by peers.”

Simon Tarr, People First managing director, said: “These awards promote the industry as a great place to work, highlight the value apprentices can offer and celebrate those who play an essential role in supporting apprentices on their chosen career path. The passion and enthusiasm of everyone involved – the young people, their employers and those who came to support them – points to a great future in our industries.”

Bryan Anderson, team leader for work-based learning at Stratford upon Avon College, said: “We have worked with Matthew Parsons for many years delivering successful hospitality apprenticeships at Woodland Grange. His passion for the industry and desire to develop the next generation of chefs is clearly demonstrated by the time and commitment he commits to the candidates.”