Talk about apprenticeships and most business managers will automatically think of taking on a young person and training them up within the business with the benefit of additional outside learning.

But apprenticeships are not just about helping school leavers transition into the world of work, they also form useful programmes for existing employees which help them with their career progression and benefit the company as a whole.

Take Serious Brands, for example. Based in Bierton near Aylesbury, it is a manufacturer of hand-built reading and hobby lights with 27 staff. The business was set up by Alex Pratt OBE 35 years ago after he designed a specialist light for use in sewing machines.

Now selling their lights around the world in areas ranging from opticians to air traffic control rooms, as well as to domestic customers, management identified a need to upskill staff as well as grow their workforce.

Advice on hiring and best practice

Serious Brands approached Buckinghamshire Business First for help with setting up an apprenticeship scheme and were helped by Workforce Skills Manager John Browning, who advised them on hiring and best practice.

Chief of Staff Helen Fearnley explains: “I attended a great online webinar from Buckinghamshire Business First about apprenticeships, which is where I met John. He was very helpful and told me everything I needed to know, and then helped to get us going on the apprenticeship programme.”

Identifying training needs for existing staff

As well as taking on two new apprentices, Harris Akram in Customer Service and Jordan Segal in Sales, annual appraisals had identified training needs for four existing staff who were then matched to relevant apprenticeship schemes to upskill within the business. This included Mike O’Boyle who took a Level 4 Sales course, and Jade Street who took a Level 5 Leadership and Management course.

“As a new manager, the timing was perfect for Jade to do the Leadership and Management Course," says Helen, "and I did a Level 3 HR apprenticeship course with my assistant, Jen Deller. These courses really helped us all to progress in our current roles. The apprenticeship courses offered such great learning and helped with team morale.”

As well as the apprenticeship courses, some of the team members also achieved functional skills qualifications in English and Maths.

"An apprenticeship helps us each to become a better version of ourselves," says Alex. "Taking one is a sign of aspiration, ambition and application - all great attributes in any team player."

As for the new apprentices, they now have permanent jobs with the company having been specifically trained for their roles.

Committing to apprenticeships

Along with on-the-job training, the apprenticeship courses involved online study with support from tutors.

“Some of the training is completed at work but you do have to be really committed to complete the apprenticeship and we spent a lot of time practising at home to earn the qualifications,” continues Helen.

“John stayed in touch and we’ve been in communication about other training needs since then. Buckinghamshire Business First has been a great local support, putting on some fantastic events and training courses, helping our team progress with their training needs.”

Helping businesses to grow

As for business customers, Serious Brands has retained many from the early days of the company but is now looking to expand its presence amongst opticians, targeting larger high street chains as well as its existing client base of independent firms.

Its plans are ambitious but, undoubtedly, running an apprenticeship programme is helping it lay the foundations of a prosperous and sustainable future.

John Browning summed it up: “Serious Brands is an excellent example of a firm not only being able to recruit new staff through apprenticeships, but also to use the scheme to train existing employees.

“It is fantastic to see how they have benefited from working with our Skills Team. Having happy, motivated staff can only help them as they step up their growth plans, which in turn is great for the local economy.

“I would encourage other firms looking to start an apprenticeship scheme to get in touch.”

Want to learn more about hiring an apprentice?

Contact our Business Support Team for more information. Email [email protected] or call 01494 927130.