Member Article

Apprenticeships aren't just for manufacturers

If you ask people about apprenticeships most will instantly think of young people learning a manual trade such as engineering or mechanics, but the region’s growing service industry can also offer placements to your people looking to get a first foot onto the ladder of a life-long career.

Oil Consultants Ltd, a specialist recruitment company for the global Oil and Gas industry, based in Washington, has just taken on its first apprentice. Matthew Symonds, 17, has joined to company on an apprenticeship through Sunderland College. He is working the accounts department, learning about invoicing and payroll etc., on his way towards earning an NVQ Level 2 in Business and Administration.

“When I left school I knew I wanted to work in a business environment,” said Matthew, “but I also knew it was hard to get a job without experience. I thought long and hard about the options open to me and decided against going back into full time education and that practical on-the-job learning was best for me.

Like most people, I didn’t realise you could get apprenticeships in business so I was delighted when I heard about the opportunity with Oil Consultants. I went through the whole interview process and am learning loads about different aspects of the business which will definitely be a major help to me in the future.“

Helen Smith, CEO of Oil Consultants, said, “As a company we have undergone significant growth over the past three years. From a single office and a staff of 9 in 2010 we are now servicing clients in over 90 countries and have increased our workforce to over 60 people across a range of international locations. Our headquarters remain in the North East and we always look to recruit locally, often taking people from outside the industry. Being able to take on an apprentice has been a major benefit to the business and is very rewarding, both in terms of business productivity and in helping to develop a young person’s skills and confidence.

Many businesses are cautious about taking on apprentices as they think the cost and time spent training them will outweigh any benefits but we certainly haven’t found this to be the case. I would encourage any local SME to think about the opportunities they can create for our local youngsters through apprenticeships in areas such as administration, finance and office management.“

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Peter Steward .