APPRENTICESHIPS
‘Why wouldn’t
you want
to have an
apprentice?’
“It has worked so nicely
and it was almost like
having a personalised
service come in and help,”
said Matt Blair, whose
company has taken on
its first apprentice with
Ealing Council’s help.
L
iam Barber, 20, was taken on
by Matt’s company, Innov8
Training and Development, as
a learning and development
apprentice as part of a scheme run by
the council’s Ealing Apprenticeship
Network (EAN).
The EAN started its 100-in-100
campaign in 2013 to encourage local
businesses to take on apprentices. Each
year, the campaign has run for 100 days
between September and December
with the aim of creating 100 pledges
for apprenticeship placements for
young people: A target which has, for
each of its three years, been smashed.
20
around ealing
Summer 2016
Innov8, based in Hillingdon, joined
up during the 2015 campaign and,
subsequently, took on Liam to fill
their role.
In return for setting up an
apprenticeship, local businesses can
expect to receive full support around
the process of hiring, employing and
training an apprentice to ensure that
both employer and employee get the
most out of the placement.
Businesses can contact the team any
time of the year – it is not just restricted to
the months of the campaign. Interested?
All you have to do is get in touch using
the contact details on these pages.
Liam’s line manager Simon Hayns,
who is lead tutor, said: “I believe
apprenticeships are the key to the
future of every industry in the country.
Why wouldn’t you want to have
an apprentice? There are so many
benefits. And, for us, it seemed like the
natural thing to do. People leave here
with the qualifications to set them up
for life. So, it is effectively the kind of
thing we do here anyway. We support
the idea massively and would have more
apprentices if we had the space here.
“From the business’s side of things,
you can mould someone to suit you
and the company’s ethos, and train