Family Business United has compiled a list of the top family businesses employing apprentices to demonstrate the contribution that businesses are making to employing apprentices and their investment in the next generation of employees.
Submissions were received from all corners of the UK and the final top 10 represent the best in terms of the number of apprentices, the creation of new apprenticeships and the number of apprentices completing and graduating from their apprenticeships. Entries were open to family businesses employing more than five apprentices and and they were analysed and rank on a number of different factors which were consolidated to determine the final listing.
As Paul Andrews, Founder and Managing Director of Family Business United adds, “Family businesses are innovative and entrepreneurial and it is great to see so many providing apprenticeships. This inaugural report has clearly demonstrated the commitment of family firms to invest in the next generation of their staff and that there are a significant number of apprenticeship opportunities within the family business sector.”
The Top 10 Family Business Apprentice Employers
Hodgkinson Builders
Novus Solutions
JCT600
Bagnalls
Sound Leisure
JCB
The Malcolm Group
The Clancy Group
Portakabin Ltd
Arco
As Chris Black, Managing Director of Sound Leisure explains, “Sound Leisure has benefited from welcoming apprentices into our business for decades and we now have various members of the team in management levels and throughout the business that started with us as apprentices.”
“There is nothing more rewarding in business than to see a young person enter the business with little knowledge and grow into an adult full of confidence and with a skill that they will be able to use for the rest of their working career.”
Ellie Jobes is the HR Director at Bagnalls, another Yorkshire based family businesses that recognises the value of apprentices. As she explains, “We have been employing apprentices continually since 1899. Each year we recruit more than 20 apprentice painters and decorators, as well as offering existing employees the opportunity to expand their skills through an apprenticeship.”
“Recruitment and development of apprenticeships is key to ensuring that we continue to provide skilled tradespeople to our customers. Many of our Branch Managers and Directors joined the business as apprentices, demonstrating that apprenticeships give a solid foundation on which to build a long-term career. We continue to promote the value of apprenticeships within our industry and more widely wherever we can,