Become a Creator today!Start creating today - Share your story with the world!
Start for free
00:00:00
00:00:01
S2 EP:2 Redefining Success: The Truth About Apprenticeships with Stephanie Cadogan and Charlie Radnor
75 Plays1 year ago
Join FYI in this episode as host Sam Wakeham and her guest delve into the truth about apprenticeships, in celebration of National Apprenticeship Week in February!
In this episode we are joined by special guests Stephanie Cadogan, the Apprenticeships Manager at our WSH, and Charlie Radnor, Early Careers Manager at BaxterStorey.
Stephanie plays a crucial role in crafting and executing apprenticeship programmes within WSH, while Charlie focuses on nurturing talent from diverse backgrounds, empowering their career growth through learning opportunities.
Throughout the episode, Stephanie, Charlie and Sam discuss the preconceptions about apprenticeships, bust the many myths, and offer insights from apprentices experiences themselves.
Recommended
Transcript
Introduction to the Episode
00:00:00
Speaker
you
00:00:03
Speaker
Hello, and welcome to FYI, the Boxer Story Podcast. I'm Sam Wacom, host for today's episode, exploring the power of apprenticeships in celebration of apprenticeship week this February.
Purpose of the Episode
00:00:13
Speaker
We meet today's, our very own parent company, WSH apprenticeship manager, Stephanie Cadogan, and Charlie Ratner, early careers manager of Baxter Story. In this episode, we will unravel the assumptions about apprenticeships, debunk the myths, and share some great experiences from upper apprentices across the business.
Understanding Apprenticeships
00:00:32
Speaker
Hi Charlie, hi Stephanie, thank you so much for joining our podcast. For those who aren't familiar with what an apprenticeship is, can you explain as in how does it differ from other education courses such as internships or work placements?
00:00:47
Speaker
what is an apprenticeship. Okay so really an apprenticeship is when someone is given the opportunity to earn as they learn and at no cost to them either and by the end they get a nationally recognized qualification and it also can potentially enable them to go further and faster in their career.
00:01:11
Speaker
I don't know if you want to sort of understand a little bit more about the mechanics behind how it works. Yeah, if you check the narrative of it, that'll be really good. Okay. So I've just sort of mentioned at no cost to themselves. So what happens is there's something called an apprenticeship nethi. So businesses that have a pay bill in excess of $3 million a year pay into this apprenticeship nethi.
00:01:34
Speaker
And ultimately, that levy funds individuals' learning. So if a business doesn't pay into the levy, we can actually transfer our funds to them so that some of their individuals can learn as well. So what it does, it enables apprenticeships for everybody within the working place. And there is an apprenticeship there for everybody in whatever role they do.
Types of Apprenticeships
00:01:57
Speaker
in hospitality, specifically what types of apprenticeships can you expect to find? Oh my goodness. Well, a library is huge. We as a business offer apprenticeships within the operational activities, so that can be operational manager levels, so your level five apprenticeship, or a team leader at level three, or a customer service at level two. We also have apprenticeships within hull in the rear area, so that might be a senior chef or a commie chef.
00:02:27
Speaker
We have apprenticeships available for our sort of people, professional areas.
Who Can Be an Apprentice?
00:02:33
Speaker
So you could do an apprenticeship in NND consultancy, HR support, senior people, professional and apprenticeship as well. IT and digital, that's another area that we offer apprenticeships in. So we have a digital marketing apprenticeship available. We have data analysts available.
00:02:53
Speaker
business, we've got marketing assistant apprenticeship, associate manager apprenticeship, we also offer apprenticeships in finance, so accountancy, and we also have degrees and master's available. So as I'm just saying, huge catalogue.
00:03:10
Speaker
apprenticeships available in very many diverse areas. Who is typically looking for an apprenticeship and what are the advantages of choosing an apprenticeship programme? Well, I immediately think there that there's people who absolutely don't realise that they're eligible.
00:03:28
Speaker
And that was probably me a couple of years ago and I had a conversation with Steph about, you know, I had been in various departments in the business and never thought about apprenticeship. I had exactly the same thought on apprenticeships as a lot of people have, witches, you leave school and you go into an apprenticeship and then you carry on in the world in which you gained that apprenticeship subject.
00:03:52
Speaker
I had a, you know, a very enlightening conversation with her about, you know, she said you can, as long as it's not to do with something that you may have gone to college or university with, you can do anything you want and it can enhance what you do now.
Business Benefits of Apprenticeships
00:04:05
Speaker
And Steph and I, when you just asked us the previous question, we're looking into our computers or into our notebooks because we have so many available. Our business spans so much, so many subject areas. It's not just what we do.
00:04:22
Speaker
on the ground, on the front of house. And it's not just what people do back of us. It's amazing what we offer as a business. And it literally, when I go out and speak to people, I can say, what are you interested in? Because I bet you we can offer you an apprenticeship in it. And it's an absolute no-brainer. I mean, that's what we say. We say it so much, but it's a no-brainer. You are being paid to enhance any skills that you have or learn a new subject.
00:04:51
Speaker
which you're personally interested in that might take you into a different career, a different, a different pathway within what you're doing. And it's, you know, what are you interested in and what would you want to study and therefore get a nationally recognized qualification in? So I think in answer to your question, it's just about getting the message out there that everybody in our business can, can look at what we offer.
00:05:15
Speaker
and can enhance anything that they're interested in by using us, use the levy, use what we can offer. Charlie, you just touched on one of the myths that I think a lot of people have preconceived
Diversity and Accessibility
00:05:27
Speaker
ideas. You know, you come out of school, you do an apprenticeship. Actually, you can be any age to do an apprenticeship, which is what's so fantastic. And, you know, I think there's still this
00:05:37
Speaker
maybe apprenticeship is wrong terminology now, maybe they should be rebranding it because I still think a lot of individuals think of an apprenticeship as you know you've got to have your overalls on and be under a colour or something or being in the kitchen but it's so not like that now and like I was just mentioning you know the diversity of
00:05:55
Speaker
apprenticeships that are available and individuals that, you know, for instance, in our industry, we've got a senior management that had been in our business for many, many years. And then now thinking, actually, you can get a master's by doing an apprenticeship. You know, it's mind blowing. It really is. So there you are. That's, we've got a myth bust on apprenticeships. That's our mission.
00:06:16
Speaker
It's not only about opening doors, but it's actually you can get a master's degree. And I think you're so right. That's that preconception about an apprenticeship. There's all different levels. So what would you expect to gain from that apprenticeship program? So you obviously have a qualification. What else would you learn throughout the way?
00:06:35
Speaker
Well, like you just said, yes, you get that nationally recognized qualification. And I said right at the very beginning, I think it does enable an individual maybe to go further and faster with their career because during their apprenticeship, they're learning on the job, they're requiring skills that will enable them to move forward much quicker. And because it's a planned program, you know, there are tick boxes of activity. So at the end of it, you have a knowledge that
00:07:05
Speaker
really does enable you to move forward.
00:07:08
Speaker
We can bring people into the business with an apprenticeship tagged onto the job role. It can be the selling point. It should be the selling point for us. And it's not just new joiners and what we can offer them. It's everybody else who's been in the business at 5, 10, 15, 20 years, like Steph just said, and decide that they want to enhance what they're already doing or learn a new skill.
00:07:36
Speaker
But I think the young people are completely up to speed with how it all works because it's part of their world and education and they get talked to about it when they're leaving school and they're leaving college and things like that. So they understand, those are the people who are saying, do you offer apprenticeship when you meet them? Because I think they know the merit and they understand that it's a really important part of it.
00:08:06
Speaker
is kind of a
Changing Perceptions
00:08:07
Speaker
no brainer now for them. I think it's the people, the older people or the people that still have this stigma around apprenticeships and that don't have the knowledge and the information, that don't think about it. So it's a real selling point for us to be able to say we offer so many when we talk to the young people because they're saying, you know, that will, if we can say yes to all of those, to any apprenticeship that they might be interested in,
00:08:33
Speaker
Um, that mean, you know, they, they leave that event, that careers fair, that whatever it is going, I know that I can step straight into an apprenticeship and we've kind of ticked the box of them, but it's also about saying it's never too late in the business. You know, please have a look and, and, and, you know, speak to your manager and, and get on board.
00:08:53
Speaker
I agree with you, Charlie. You know, I think schools and colleges and careers advisors are now really enabling, you know, school leavers to understand about what apprenticeships are about. And of course on social media, there's so much more now about it. I think some of the blockages may be parents of younger people, not really fully understanding and appreciating whatever an apprenticeship is now.
00:09:17
Speaker
And one of the things I do is bring in individual school leavers and they come onto our Chartered Manager degree apprentice program. And I had to say, you know, that when I first started recruiting this a few years ago, it was, it was harder to recruit because people were naive to it. But my goodness me over the last sort of three years, I've really seen the momentum of applications coming in because people know about it. People are talking about it. It's fantastic.
00:09:47
Speaker
Absolutely. Stephanie, what you do is so important for the business, but it's also changing that stigma of what apprenticeship means. I suppose perhaps as managers throughout our business and other businesses that don't appreciate the real value of what an apprenticeship program will do to their current people and retention.
Employer's Commitment
00:10:08
Speaker
So in light of that retention piece, can you just explain how important it is to remind our people
00:10:16
Speaker
of the importance of advertising and encouraging our team members to look at the apprenticeship program if they are looking to explore or leave. On average it costs £4,000 to induct a new starter into our business and that's just us not industry-wide.
00:10:33
Speaker
I think, Samantha, you've sort of hit the nail on the head there with regards to retention. You know, as you said, we've heavily invested in individuals already. We've brought them on and we've trained them to a certain point. So it's about retaining them in the business. And to be able to give an individual the opportunity to develop Viva further is going to be a big tick in the box, isn't it, for that retaining piece? And again, you know,
00:10:57
Speaker
Charlie used the term no brainer, you know, of course, we should look at if we got a position within the business, we should always be looking at putting one of our own in that position. And if we are using apprenticeships, we listen this, you know,
00:11:14
Speaker
The very first thing they do is they look at an apprenticeship for an individual within their business. How am I going to retain them? What opportunities can I give them? Let's see if there's an apprenticeship there that's going to be of value and interest to that individual. Let's use it.
00:11:30
Speaker
Yeah. And I think it shows from an employee side, it shows the commitment and the longevity that your employer wants from you. It's saying, you're brilliant. We want to keep you. We want to put you through something that could take one year, two years, three years, depending on what it is, you know, because you're brilliant and we want to invest the money that we've invested in our levy, you know, on you.
00:11:57
Speaker
because we want you to be interested in your job and to learn new skills and to have opportunities within the business. I think it's kind of that confirmation, that validation of wanting to keep that employee because they're an asset to the business, I guess.
00:12:15
Speaker
Do you ever have managers, not just that that's the story of WSH, but throughout your career, that they've just not seen the value of the apprenticeship program? How do you kind of change their lives? Yeah,
Support and Structure
00:12:29
Speaker
stepping can be challenging. So it's about ensuring that that
00:12:35
Speaker
that line manager of that potential apprentice understands the value that that apprentice is going to bring to their business in the long run. I mean, it does require investment of time from a line manager's mentor. But yes, our role is to educate them and ensure that they understand what benefits there are by putting their individual through apprenticeship. And I have to say,
00:12:58
Speaker
You know, initially some people can push back a little bit, my goodness, I haven't got time to have an apprentice in my business. But once they've done it and gone through the process, it's like, oh my goodness me, this is amazing. You know, this is, this individual's a real asset to my business. She'll want another apprentice. How well should they come back? Oh, they do. I get a lot of repeat business I have to say, which is fantastic.
00:13:22
Speaker
And also think it's worth noting, you know, for any manager that's thinking they might take on an apprentice, it's not just them and the apprentice. That apprentice gets so much additional support from the, from the apprenticeship provider themselves, you know, it comes with trainers, it comes with coaches, all of that type of thing. And then we've got the support in our business, the Knights of Myself, I'm here to support. So it's not just that line manager and that apprentice, there's a huge port mechanism around them.
00:13:52
Speaker
Yeah, very good point. Yeah. That's a good point. And you stole my next question, which was, what support does the apprentices have? And you said that they have a mentor, is that their line manager? Or is that someone else in the business? Yes, in the workplace, they have their line mentor.
00:14:08
Speaker
And then I'm also around as an additional support. And then like I just referred to the apprenticeship provide, they also have their support network survey and an apprentice will have trainers from that provider. They will have coaches and mentors as well.
00:14:28
Speaker
So then for instance, our childhood manager, the three apprentices, they are based at one location initially. And then after a period of maybe six months, they start moving around locations and 20% of their working week is given to the actual learning. So that might be that they attend virtual master classes or they're writing up their module that needs to be submitted, et cetera, et cetera.
00:14:57
Speaker
And then the rest of their weeks, like 20% is usually one day a week. The rest of their week they're working at a location that they are putting into practice their learning. And then what they do is they evidence it. So they'll be taking photographs, they'll be writing notes, et cetera. So that all gets built into April what failure for the end of their learning journey.
00:15:18
Speaker
So obviously, if you're doing apprenticeship in the kitchen, it's very hands-on apprenticeship, but then you might be doing project management apprenticeship, so that's a little bit different. Again, you get involved in a project within our business so that you can be evidencing your learning going through. So it really does depend which apprenticeship you are studying. But the key thing to remember is when somebody does apply to do an apprenticeship, their role has to be relevant to that apprenticeship.
00:15:47
Speaker
because of this evidencing piece. So for instance, you might have a chef who would like to do a data analysis apprenticeship. Well, that's not going to work because of their job. They are not day data analyst activity. So it has to be relevant because of this evidencing piece.
00:16:06
Speaker
So Charlie, you said you moved from around the business. How did you do that? So Steph had a conversation with me about apprenticeships when I was working in the HR department. And it was relevant to my role under the HR, you know, there are apprenticeships under HR as there are in the support office departments. So it was relevant to me at that time. It's just that I think there might also be some misunderstanding from people who have been to university.
00:16:31
Speaker
and have kind of thought that they have done all the learning that they need to do or can do and that apprenticeships aren't relevant to them. I think a lot of people go to university with no idea what they want to do in life, grab a degree in something and end up going into something completely different. Apprenticeships can still work for them. You can still do it at any point down the line. It's just that it can't be within the realms of what you did for your degree.
00:16:57
Speaker
So that was a really interesting conversation to have and it's about the messaging that Steph was trying to get out then and we're trying to get out now that there's scope for anything, even if you've been to university and grabbed a degree and you want to train in something else. And I was just also wanted to say on the back of what Steph just said about, it's about building the brand and being the brand
00:17:22
Speaker
that your business wants to, you know, do you want to be a brand that is excelling in apprenticeships?
Overcoming Barriers
00:17:31
Speaker
Do you put all this effort in and all the support in, you know, and I know I want to be engaging with people, you know, when I go to these events and things and saying, yes, you know, we put everything we possibly can into apprenticeships because we understand
00:17:47
Speaker
at what they do for our employees. That's just from our side of it, from our business, but it's about showing that you're putting in the work to keep your employees happy and doing stuff that they want to do and upskilling them, I guess.
00:18:06
Speaker
Our next topic is around myths and challenges, and I know we've touched on both of those, but what are the other misconceptions around apprenticeship programs? And I imagine, like you said, Charlie, eligibility is one of the biggest challenge, sometimes age. Are there any others that we've not really touched on?
00:18:25
Speaker
I think one of the challenges can be around the maths and English part. So in order to go onto an apprenticeship, you do need to hold GCSE maths and English, which can be a bit of a barrier for some individuals immediately, especially if English is their first subject as well.
00:18:41
Speaker
Um, but you know, people need to need to understand that actually, okay, maybe I haven't, I don't hold maths and English at the moment, but that actually doesn't stop them embarking on an apprenticeship because during their apprenticeship, the provider will then give them training and they will then eventually get their functional skills that are required qualifications, which are the maths and English. So what I would say to anybody out there, if you haven't got your GCSE maths and English, don't let that be a barrier. You can study it.
00:19:11
Speaker
what's your doing, your apprenticeship? I think we've already discussed. We refer to them as a development journey because of that name of an apprenticeship. People just get it wrong when they think of what it does. And I also think the challenge for some businesses or some industries is the support level that they're able to give. I'd like to think in our business, we show our commitment and how important we hold it. We've got staff
00:19:40
Speaker
you know, as the support for every single apprentice who goes through, you know, who is interested or wants to go through it. And I think it's also about, you know, I think there's a lot of worry with people who would go on to say, am I going to be allowed the extra time to do, you know, the 20% of the paperwork and you know, the studying that I need to do and all that kind of stuff, because especially in hospitality, you know, we're known as a business for being,
00:20:09
Speaker
very busy. We're a Monday to Friday business, but are those people thinking, am I going to get enough time and support from my line manager to have the time to do all of that extra work? Because you don't want it to then bump into your evenings, your weekends, whatever your work-life balance is. A point is the business supports you. You get the time to do your job and you get the time to do your study.
00:20:34
Speaker
Yeah, we commit to that as a business. What are some of the challenges that businesses face when implementing apprenticeship programs?
Government and Financial Support
00:20:45
Speaker
I work with, on the sort of other side of my role, I work with charities and employability programs where they have got grants to offer, you know, to take people who aren't eligible for apprenticeships and put them in a position where they are and they'd be able to enter say our business or another business.
00:21:04
Speaker
And the government and DWP and things like that are sort of tripping over themselves to invest to make sure that people can do this because the businesses can then employ people and do the rest of the work kind of thing because they've put the work in beforehand. There's just so much support out there. It's about getting out there and educating yourself with how you can support your apprentices and having a business model that means you can do that, I guess.
00:21:31
Speaker
I think sort of following up on that, you know, smaller companies may not realize that actually they can get access to this, to this levy, partnership levy. And it's literally about sort of going onto the government websites and having a look at, you know, getting some levy transferred to them. It's, you know, there was no financial cost to them at all. It's purely sort of that operational time, that 20%.
00:21:57
Speaker
that it would maybe have an impact on smaller business. But my goodness me, it's a good investment. And so I do think, you know, smaller business is maybe not aware that there is that financial assistance there to support them. And Charlie's just touched on some of the charities that we work with and we've got some individuals in the business that we have brought in through some social mobility schemes and
00:22:25
Speaker
we have transferred our levy to pay for those individuals to go through an apprenticeship.
00:22:32
Speaker
that kind of leads into my next topic, which is future trends. You both would know in the autumn statement of November last year, the government announced it will be investing 50 million pounds in a two year pilot starting in spring 2024 to boost apprenticeship training in all different sectors, which contribute to economic growth like engineering and manufacturing. Obviously this is a growing market for all industries. And for example, Audi announced that they are firing 500 apprenticeship placements this year.
00:23:01
Speaker
and the minimum wage will be raised in by 21% for April. What other future trends are you seeing? Can I just touch on that pay piece? I think one of the trends is that actually, yes, years ago there was an apprenticeship wage. Now, the likes of our business, we don't pay in a apprenticeship wage. We pay somebody the right salary for the job. I mean, that individual is working for us and studying.
00:23:24
Speaker
My goodness me, I mean, that's a tall order in itself. So we paid them the correct salary for that, that job. And I suspect that is going to be a trend that other businesses are going to start doing. So the, you know, that old piece where you were paid an apprenticeship's wage, I think that will probably disappear. I'd like to think so. That's for sure. And I think, and as more and more people understand apprenticeships, what they can offer businesses can understand what an apprenticeship can do.
00:23:54
Speaker
For their business, I believe the providers may well start providing even more topics to study. For instance, we as a business, we provide approximately 20 different apprenticeship programmes.
00:24:09
Speaker
And I know that there's other topics that people in our industry are asking me, or can I study that? And I'm constantly looking out there, is there a provider for this particular subject? And I think there's going to be more subjects that people are going to be able to study under an apprenticeship.
00:24:26
Speaker
And, you know, we as a business, and you just mentioned all these stats there, we as a business currently have in excess of 530 individuals on an apprenticeship. And, you know, I'm looking already to taking another 20 degree apprentices this year.
Industry Interest and Programs
00:24:42
Speaker
So momentum is definitely building around apprenticeships. I don't know, Charlie, if you wanted to add to that.
00:24:49
Speaker
Yeah, well, it just makes me think about it's kind of having the proof that you've been banging this drum for a very long time. You know, I think there's headlines and I think there's, we promise to do this and that's all great, of course. But I'd like to think that we have kind of been nurturing that side of growth and talent for a long time. And we shout about it internally by
00:25:18
Speaker
looking after our employees and hopefully creating a pipeline of a career path for them. And I think also, I think, I mean, what we'd like to get to the point of and other people I'm sure in other industries will get to where it just gets to the point where
00:25:34
Speaker
apprenticeships are tagged on to the roles as they're being advertised because it just becomes, it just becomes, it's not at all we'll get you in and then we'll have the discussion about an apprenticeship late today and it's about why wouldn't you just advertise all of those roles that you possibly can.
00:25:55
Speaker
as an apprentice and that just sounds the norm for us and for hospitality and for all those other industries where you're just you're taking somebody on regardless of you know of age and school status and all that kind of stuff as an apprentice but paying as Steph says you know paying them a normal wage with the add-on of that of that of that extra bit of learning in the qualification that you know that's where we'd all love to get to
00:26:23
Speaker
What advice would you give someone who's looking, who's listening in and wants to start exploring that? Full Steph immediately. Well perhaps someone who doesn't work for the business, what do they do? Did they just drop Steph a message on LinkedIn? How does that work?
00:26:39
Speaker
I mean, yes, if they want to join our business, yes, please reach out to me. I'm on the social media. Yeah. Yes. Reach out to me. I'm more than happy to have a conversation to people than they're looking just for information around apprenticeships. Generally, I think I'd probably have enough knowledge to be able to talk them around it and maybe point them in the right direction. But, you know, there's so much information there now out on social media.
00:27:09
Speaker
I just say to people, please, please don't think, especially if you're a school leader, but don't think you've just got to go to university if you want to continue studying or you've got to go to college or you've got to go into work. There is this fantastic thing called a degree apprenticeship. Have a look at it. Anybody else that is thinking they want an apprenticeship in whatever subject, like I said, there is a huge library on the World Wide Web.
00:27:38
Speaker
with lots and lots of information. Is there a website that I don't know if there is an answer to this but every single apprentice that exists can go on to the government website. The government website tells you the types of apprenticeships that are available.
00:27:57
Speaker
Okay, but it doesn't necessarily tell you the employers that offer it. So what it does, it tells you the apprenticeships that are available and who the providers are. So who the trainers are. So if you reached out to them, they may well then put you in touch with an employer that runs apprenticeship.
Impact of Apprenticeships
00:28:15
Speaker
Do you have some success stories that you could share? We've got so many success stories. I'm so proud to have seen some of the journeys that some of our individuals have been on. Many, especially the younger people that joined us on the chat of manager degree apprentices now, they're already senior managers in our business, operating and running.
00:28:38
Speaker
big contracts for us, so it's just absolutely fabulous to see. I'll give you an example of how we as a business benefit as well, you know, just immediately when somebody joins us, it's always that fresh set of eyes. And our last cohort of degree apprentices, they commenced learning in October of this year. And one of these individuals went into the location she was working at.
00:29:03
Speaker
And within a week, it identified that perhaps we weren't promoting our breakfast offer at its best to the customers at location. So she identified this, went to the location managers and told her this and said, the location manager said, well, you put together a presentation and show me what you think we should be doing. Which she did and presented this to the location manager and then the director of that contract.
00:29:33
Speaker
and they said yeah we think you're right so they put in action her ideas and lo and behold and this is within two weeks of her joining us lo and behold they put into action like I said her ideas the next week the sales of those breakfast products went up so immediately we as a business we
00:29:58
Speaker
receive, how can I say, immediate benefit from having this young individual with a fresh set of eyes in our business. So that's just one immediate sort of bit of success story, but long-term, my goodness me, I could tell you about so many, Sam, it goes on and on and on, it really goes. Young individuals coming in, looking after contracts and bringing in new ideas with them, delivering to our clients,
00:30:24
Speaker
And then again, you know, I'm talking about young individuals, but we've also had people that have been with our business for a long time who thought, actually, I don't think I can study anymore, I'm too old. And then actually, once they, you know, I've had a chat, I tried to hold their hand through the process a little bit.
00:30:41
Speaker
Anyway, they've done it and they've achieved their qualification. Those individuals just, it's just a delight to see because suddenly you see them empowered and you see their career moving forward, like I said earlier, much faster.
00:30:57
Speaker
I obviously speak with apprentices and I know a few who've been in the support office and I also speak, you know, spoken with some of the degree apprentices who have come through and recently had a conversation. From an early careers point of view, from what I want to do when I'm trying to talk to these, to young people, you know, why did you do a degree apprenticeship or why did you consider hospitality or backstory?
00:31:19
Speaker
And she said, well, I had no idea what I wanted to do when I left school. And this gave me the opportunity to get a degree or, you know, it didn't have to be a degree of apprenticeship. It could be another apprenticeship and get paid and learn. And all my friends are going to university and just getting into loads of debt and they're not sure what they're doing. And I feel like I'm contributing to the business.
00:31:41
Speaker
and to the industry and learning and she was so passionate and enthused with what she was doing and she was learning and when I want to go out and talk about what we do and attract new people into the business I don't need to do any talking or selling because I can take any one of our graduated apprentices, anybody who's gone through it and get them to talk to them because they're the people who have been through it and can say
00:32:09
Speaker
your hand on heart that it was a fantastic thing for them to do. So those are the success stories. When you know they've come in and you've looked after them properly and they can speak to other people and convince them that it's a wonderful thing to do, then you know that as a business you're doing something right.
Advantages for Young Apprentices
00:32:25
Speaker
You know, I've met quite a few degree apprentices recently and the confidence that these young individuals have, I mean, I think about myself when I was 20, 21 or however, they're just so confident and they're so willing and yeah, it's really lovely to see. I always have a little bit of a chuckle because when I first meet them, they're in their school uniform.
00:32:48
Speaker
and then you see them out in the business and you just think my goodness me you know like you just said so very confident and like Charlie's just said it is this piece about especially with the degree princess they're not getting the into debt they're already on their career journey whereas you know many of their prints that gone off to university will come out with debt and then they haven't got any work experience either
00:33:12
Speaker
Whereas, you know, our degree apprentices, they're already having a career, they're already on their way. And like you said, just such young, confident individuals that we in our business, we want them and we want to retain them, that's for sure.
Degree Apprenticeships
00:33:28
Speaker
And I have to say, with the Chartered Manager degree apprenticeship, because subjects varied, it's not just streamlining them immediately at that age. They're looking at each other, they're looking at finance, they're looking at marketing, they're looking at ED&I. All of those subjects are covered, so they're not streamlining themselves at an early stage and they're not, which I think is just fantastic.
00:33:51
Speaker
Thanks for coming to the end of this chat. Thank you both. That was really great. And thank you for listening to FYI Back to the Story podcast and we hope you found some inspiration and valuable insight. If you've enjoyed today's discussion, don't forget to subscribe for more engaging conversations and stay tuned for upcoming episodes. Thank you both. Thank you. Thank you, Sam.