Emplas has committed to the appointment of eight new apprenticeships before the end of this year as part of its sustainable growth strategy.
The new posts, which include a mix of fabrication and customer services roles, are being created as part of the new Apprenticeships Standard, launched in August.
A member of the programme’s ‘Trailblazer’ scheme and delivered in partnership with industry and training providers, each post is built around a dedicated training programme specific to the job, creating a role-specific standard and an assessment plan.
Judith Chadwick, HR manager at Emplas, said: “Previous schemes weren’t always as role specific and on that basis met with variable levels of success.
“We were able to work with other industry colleagues and training providers such as GFTS, to develop two role specific apprenticeships in window and door fabrication, and a second in installation, in addition to the office and administrative apprenticeships we already have in place.”
Emplas has made apprenticeships a key element of its recruitment strategy, with four apprenticeships currently ‘live’ and 11 former apprentices, working within the business.
As part of the new Apprenticeship Standard it will bring a further seven apprentices into its team this year and is currently recruiting for the following roles: sprayer/fabricator; fabricator; maintenance technician; commercial customer services operative (CSO); a CSO coordinator; order processor; purchasing coordinator; and IT technician.
Judith continued: “One of the things that works well for us and our team is that we can offer a career path. For example, we’re recruiting for two fabricator roles, one of which we see specialising in fabrication and spray painting; the other we see focussed on fabrication with the opportunity to move into a team leadership role.”
Youth unemployment is a key priority for Government. According to the Nuffield-funded Resolution Foundation research the current economic crisis risks pushing an additional 600,000 18-24-year-olds into unemployment in the coming year.
“We’re in a position to be able to offer young people leaving school or college an opportunity to start their careers in a very progressive and fast-moving business, with a proven track record in delivering genuine opportunities for career progression,” Judith said.
“As an employer, we’re not immune from the challenges that the industry faces in recruitment and we need to plan to address those now, putting in place a recruitment strategy which is sustainable and which supports our own and our customers’ future success.”
