A successful National Apprenticeship Week 2023

Monday

The beginning of National Apprenticeship Week 2023, saw Aston Group delivering the first of our weeks five events to over 100 students at Waltham Forest College. Our Social Value Manager, who runs the Aston Group Apprentice Programme, accompanied by one of our qualified electricians and two of our domestic electrical apprentices who attend the college, gave a presentation and Q&A session on Apprenticeships and the day-to-day duties of our electrical team.

They were delighted at how engaged the students were, answering multiple questions about the reality of apprenticeships and conditions within Aston Group. It was a fantastic opportunity to bring the role to life, showcasing the construction industry and apprenticeships in a positive light. We were particularly happy to network with many young people who we identified as potential future apprentices, and received many CVs from those attending.

See a short video from our Social Value Manager, Rachel and our Electrician, Ian.

Tuesday

Our Social Value Manager, Solar Engineer and another electrical apprentice attended the London Academy of Sustainable Construction (LASC) to take part in their jobs fair and give a talk on Solar Energy and electrical apprenticeships. We were approached by many young Waltham Forest residents interested in joining the Built Environment as a career path. Our team were extremely impressed by their passion, knowledge and personality, and earmarked a few as potential apprentices or to offer wok experience placements to.

The Solar Energy speech was a huge success, and resulted in a lively discussion amongst the attendees and our colleagues, who were keen to emphasise the benefits and advantages of a career within the burgeoning eco-friendly electrical sector. They talked about the upcoming technology, the widening skills gap as the current tradespeople retire from the field, and the ability to provide a high standard of living for future families, if they commit to undertaking an apprenticeship and enhancing their skills and employment chances. The audience were especially interested in hearing how our apprentices can start their own companies should they choose to do so, after finishing their apprenticeships and become a fully qualified electrician.

Wednesday

Our Social Value Manager, our Commercial Electrical Apprentice and one of our Resident Liaison Officers attended two events. The first at Leyton 6^th Form College, where we hosted a stall, gave advice and information on construction careers and roles, and delivered a CV Surgery to enhance student’s existing profiles.

Taking part in community and educational events is a fantastic way to raise awareness of roles and careers in many different departments, and help local people identify potential paths for their futures.

Over 200 students attended the careers fair, interacted with our staff and hopefully found our presence and guidance beneficial.

In the afternoon we switched location to Waltham Forest Town Hall for an Apprentice Employer event.

This was aimed at local businesses who were interested in hiring an apprentice, or wanted some further information on the benefits. Our team were able to talk about their experiences, highlight the pros and cons, and provide insights into the process of hiring, employing and navigating apprenticeships.

We spoke to a few employers, and were able to help reduce the fear and anxiety that many feel when faced with an unknown process. One local hairdresser was very passionate about giving back to the community and had been thinking about taking on a work experience placement or apprentice, but was unsure where to start, and had put it off after becoming overwhelmed the previous year. We were able to have an in-depth conversation about how we could support her and her family business, and reassure her that it was a much simpler and easier experience, than she might be expecting and that we would be happy to mentor her in hiring, on-boarding and managing an apprentice.

Following that conversation, our Social Value Manager located a hairdressing apprenticeship with New City College, arranged a joint meeting with their staff to discuss the opportunity, and attended the meeting to support the young business owner. We are now in the process of enrolling with the college, and arranging an open evening at the salon to help recruit the apprentice.

Being able to use our experience with the Apprenticeship Levy Fee, college identification and enrolment process to support other local businesses is incredibly rewarding, as it can appear complex and confusing at times. We are looking forward to supporting them through the next steps, and once their new apprentice is ensconced within their role, provide them with extra training and qualifications for all staff , 1-2-1 mentoring and help them to create community initiatives to not only support local residents, but also to promote and grow their business, to ensure their continued success.

Thursday

Our final event of the week was a jobs fair at Waltham Forest College, where the last two of our six electrical apprentices who attend the college, hosted a stall there and engaged with their peers and a variety of organisations. As with every other member of the team who took part in the weeks events, they were amazing ambassadors for Aston Group, impressing everyone with their professional, polite and approachable demeanour. They were able to talk eloquently about their experience, the roles and the industry to everyone attending, following which we have established new partnerships and networking opportunities.

The feedback from the organisers has been phenomenal, thanking us profusely for our valued contribution and passion to support their endeavours, with multiple requests to return or deliver additional support. The team successfully promoted Aston Group as a fantastic place to work within a wonderful, buoyant industry, as shown by the multitudes of emails and CVs received in the days after, and we hope to have further conversations with many of them in the months ahead, as opportunities arise.

Aston Group want to thank everyone who contributed to making our presence at the events so successful, and we look forward to continuing our support at many more.

To find out more about Apprenticeships with Aston Group please click the link or contact R.statter@astongroup.co.uk