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I started my career as an apprentice, after completing sixth form I wanted to continue learning but didn’t want to go away to university and get into debt so an apprenticeship seemed like a good option. I have completed a number of apprenticeship programs throughout my career and find them a great way to gain skills and knowledge whilst learning the role. I know how valuable the apprenticeship program was to myself and I wanted to provide that stepping stone on to support our next generation.
2. How do you go about selecting candidates for your programme and what do you look for?
For Lee, our Admin apprentice we made contact with a local provider. They are actually based on the business park next to us so it’s really convenient. They supported us in advertising the job role and completing the pre apprenticeship check to ensure they are eligible for the program before we interviewed them. At the interview stage I was looking for someone who had good communication and people skills and the confidence and eagerness to learn, all the knowledge and skills required for the role can be taught to the right candidate, we just needed someone with the desire and ambition to progress in the role.
3. What kind of training and support do apprentices receive during the programme?
Our apprentice Lee is supported by the college, he attends for half a day every two weeks for in house training, knowledge and guidance, they also provide remote support via their student portal. Within work he has myself and the senior Technical Director as mentors. He has attended industry specific online training classes and regularly attends webinars to improve his knowledge in the key areas of the business. We also now have four apprentice engineers across the group, as their course is more technical and spans a three year period; they have a two day block each month at the college for hands-on theory and practical training. They also attend via the college additional industry specific training courses to assist in getting them the qualifications across all areas of their role. We provide industry and manufacture specific training courses either in hours or online and they have one on one mentoring from the engineering team, as we have a number of them they also help support each other with the areas they are more confident in which is absolutely great!
4. What kind of impact have you seen, either on your business, your team, or the apprentices themselves?
Lee has taken very well to the role, he brings a wealth of knowledge in the technology area due to coming from a generation that grew up with this being more commonly taught in schools. Lee is very hands on and happy to assist in other areas of the business when the need arises meaning he gets on well with all team members. He has also recently made a great suggestion and single handedly joined the male team members together in a local weekly football league, this has really helped with team morale and in creating a great comradeship between the different business areas. The Engineer apprentices all work really well together, their role is field based so they are out on different sites and jobs most of the week but they all support each other and have a great working team relationship with each other.
5. What would you say to other companies in the security industry who are on the fence about apprenticeships?
If a business can commit to supporting the apprentice, provide them with the tools to be able to learn the skills and knowledge to complete the apprenticeship and have the patience to to take the time to guide and mentor an apprentice then there is no other reason really why a business shouldn’t. We now have four apprentice engineers across different business areas and each one has exceeded our expectations, has an eagerness to learn and has been a great addition to the team.
6. How do you see the role of apprenticeships evolving over the next few years in security?
In recent years there has been a big increase in providers offering security industry apprenticeships designed specifically for the engineers, this has been a great progression as this has been needed for years due to the substantial short fall in trained engineers in this industry specifically, this is one of the reasons we are keen to support help grow the future engineers. From what I have seen there does seem to be a number of security company on board with supporting apprentices in this area so I hope it continues to grow and expand.
7. What’s the one myth or misconception about apprenticeships you’d like to see disappear for good?
One myth is that apprentices have to be school leavers, whilst this is a usually career progression for many school leavers, with the support of an employer you can complete an apprenticeship at any age. I completed my first one in 2002 and my most recent one in 2017 and I am currently looking into starting another one in the near future! There are a lot more options available for apprenticeships now than when I first left school and the level of learning can go up to degree level also now too which is amazing.
8. If you had to sum it up in one sentence, why should every security company be thinking about apprenticeships in 2025?
University is great, but it’s not for everyone, the costs to attend just aren’t within some of our younger generations’ reach. Added to that I have found with my son and other younger family members they tend to learn better being hands on than academically so apprenticeships are a great combination of both to support persons into a role that could shape their career. I also feel that investing in apprentices shows them that as an employer you care about giving them the right skills and knowledge to be able to do a great job, this can never be a bad thing! They also give an innovative, fresh and alternate perspective to roles, situations and products that someone in the role for an extended time might not consider so they directly contribute to changing and improving the industry and challenge why we do things the way we do.
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