Cartwright's got talent with own apprenticeship scheme CARTWRIGHT HAS recruited
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its second wave of 40 apprentices for a two-year apprenticeship with the body and trailer manufacturer, commencing this month.
Working in partnership with Stockport College, Cartwright launched its apprentice programme for 16 to 19 years olds in 2012, with the first batch of recruits recently completing their first year.
"The retention has been superb, we've only lost five of the original 40," said Helen Jennings, recruitment and HR consultant at Cartwright Group.
A supportive experience She puts this down to their bespoke programme, which suits the business and offers apprentices a "supportive environment, with lots of practical experience". The two-year programme gives the youngsters a Level 2 engineering apprenticeship, and they can also continue their studies to Level 3 and ultimately HND level.
The two-year programme covers every part of the trailer build process, said Jennings, with the recruits specialising in an area of their choice during year two.
"They go through the major manufacturing stages. They spend two-month blocks doing fabrication, chassis building, body building, and finishing. Each apprentice has a buddy/mentor in each department and at the end of the rotations we do a full appraisal."
Asked how easy it has been for Cartwright to recruit candidates to the scheme, Jennings said the relationship Stockport College has with local schools has helped.
"I have also been into schools and given a short presentation on what being an apprentice at Cartwright is all about, and we advertise the apprentice programme through the National Apprenticeship Service," she said.
Touring the shop floor "We also hold open days where young people can come and meet the current apprentices and have a tour of the shop floor."
Jennings added: "You have to push to bring apprentices into this industry, but the benefit is that you get to grow your own talent.
"It means we get a workforce with the specific skills we require, who knows and understands our business."
She said that several senior level staff at Cartwright started as apprentices on the shop floor.