Framptons: it's just the start
Page 37
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
Framptons Transport Services has already taken on three bright, young apprentices and it is on the look out for more candidates Words: Will Shiers
LIZZIE TODD, the Framptons Transport Services HR advisor, is enthusiastic about the Shepton Mallet-based haulier's apprentice scheme, which she believes is a fantastic way of attracting fresh blood to the industry.
She explains that the scheme sees youngsters, ranging in age from 16 to 19, spending between 12 to 18 months with the firm. They get paid for their time, including the time they spend at college, and at the end of the apprenticeship they are awarded an NVO level 2. But better still, the training they receive at Framptons equips the candidates for a permanent role with the company once they finish.
Seventeen-year-old Joe Dowden's apprenticeship is in conjunction with South Gloucestershire and Stroud College. He has been working in the warehouse since September.
A job they like doing
"I am picking parcels for customers, or if I'm asked to I can be picking pallets as well," he says. Joe, who is thankful to Framptons for the opportunity, says he really likes the industry. "Some of my friends don't really understand though, and say 'why warehousing'? But it's a job that I really like doing."
Joe's wage isn't as much as the rest of the warehousing team, but it's more than the usual apprentice rate. "Some of my friends are shocked when I tell them what I earn, but at least I have money coming in, and I am learning at the same time," he says.
While he's enjoying working in the warehouse, Joe would ultimately like to be a truck driver. "It's a lifelong ambition of mine," he says. And there's every chance that this dream could become a reality, explains Todd. "He's certainly going about it the right way," she says. "We advertise everything internally to
give employees the opportunity to move to different divisions."
Joe's older sister Charley is also on the apprenticeship scheme, and has spent the past year working in the traffic office. Like her brother, Charley works a 37.5-hour week, and spends one day a fortnight at Stroud College.
Both she and Joe have excelled in their roles, with Todd saying: "The best measurement of whether an apprentice is doing well is whether they are adding to the team. The feedback from both of their managers is that they are. Charley is valued in the traffic office and Joe is contributing in the warehouse."
She says there is a high probability that both will want to build their careers with Framptons at the end of their apprenticeships.
Truck enthusiast Jack Billett, who turned 17 this month, is on a driving apprenticeship scheme run in conjunction with Devizes-based WTTL. Although he isn't qualified to drive a car yet, by next September he will hopefully have his Class C licence. For the first six to 10 months he will spend the bulk of his working days in the passenger seat of a truck on Palletline work, shadowing
the driver, and taking on a traditional driver's mate role. He is allocated some time in the traffic office, and spends one day a month at college.
After he passes his car test, and Framptons feels he is ready, he will be behind the wheel of a van and then eventually a truck.
Although it's early days (he only joined the scheme last month), Billett has impressed both employer and driving instructor. And he isn't lacking in enthusiasm either. "I'm really enjoying it," he tells CM. "It's definitely a challenge, but I like a challenge."
Looking for an apprenticeship?
Framptons is now on the look out for more apprentices: two in its Mendip Truck Centre workshop and one in the sales and marketing department. But it's struggling to fill the roles. This is something that Framptons MD Andrew Frampton finds hard to comprehend considering the high level of unemployment in the country. He's toying with the idea of changing the name of the job titles from apprentice to trainee in the hope of increasing their appeal. •