WITH all eyes on the apprenticeship agenda this week, Russell Taylor is flying the flag for its own army of “home-grown” talent as they make their mark on the company’s future growth plans.

As National Apprenticeship Week 2020 gets under way, the business is celebrating the success of its apprentices who, due to their training, development and nurture in a dynamic yet family-focused environment, have become some of the company’s most vital assets.

Apprentices like 18-year-old Isaac Heyes, who has just passed his Level 2 Recruitment Resourcing qualification with distinction and grown in just over 18 months from school-leaver to an integral member of the Industrial Trades Division recruitment team at the business’ headquarters at Burton Manor.

Describing his apprenticeship journey so far, Isaac said: “I’d always wanted a job rather than college or university after doing A-levels. My first job was Saturday work in a café while I was still at school and, as well as making an apprenticeship my decision, my Dad encouraged me to choose this career route as he’d been an apprentice himself.

“I saw the vacancy at Russell Taylor on the internet and was invited for interview. I really didn’t know what to expect as I didn’t know anything about recruitment at the time.

“Since taking up the apprenticeship, I’ve learned so much about the industry. It’s 100 per cent hands-on experience, watching and learning from others, constantly picking up new skills and getting things right.

“I know I am growing in knowledge and ability because of my apprenticeship and that I’m being set on course for a successful career.” 

Industrial Trades Division team leader Tom Owens (pictured with Isaac) added: “The great thing about having Isaac on the Industrial team is watching him grow every day in confidence and experience. 

“From being quite shy and reserved when he first joined us, he’s become more self-assured and knowledgeable in his role as his skills have increased – he’s now truly an integral part of the team.”

The theme of National Apprenticeship Week 2020 is Look Beyond with young people, employers and parents being encouraged to look further than traditional routes into employment and explore the diversity of career options and industries now available to them through apprenticeships.

As a champion of the apprenticeship route into the world of work, Russell Taylor chairman Peter Russell sees the company’s strategy of training and developing “home-grown” talent as a means of driving the business on its ambitious expansion pathway.

He said: “Developing our own people to our high performance culture - starting with those on apprenticeships - is a way of us ensuring a continuous pipeline of skills to drive the business forward as well as being vital to narrowing the region’s current skills gaps.”

Russell Taylor has so far supported more than 50 apprentices within all its subsidiaries, most of them now firmly positioned at the core of operations. Apprenticeship programmes throughout the group have expanded in recent years to include recruitment sales, business administration, customer service, finance, IT and in leadership development.