Member Article

North East trainers land another national contract

An ambitious young facilities management company has chosen Newcastle-based B-Skill to deliver the training for its new apprenticeship scheme.

The B38 Group provides the full range of property maintenance and facilities management services from its headquarters in Wakefield, West Yorks, as well as offices in London, Swindon, Wilts, and Bromsgrove in Worcestershire.

The fast-growing group, which was set up three years ago, turned to training specialist B-Skill when it decided to investigate running a Business Administration Adult Apprenticeship.

B-Skill started working with the two B38 apprentices, Alexis Bell and Charlie Sidebottom, at the company’s head office just before Christmas. Both girls are working towards a Business Administration level 2 NVQ qualification over 12 months.

Paul Wileman, managing director of B-Skill, said: “The two apprentices are both very, very enthusiastic.

“They are updating their skills in English, maths and ICT and the course will improve their awareness of working in a business environment, employers’ rights and responsibilities, and we also look at issues such as equality and diversity.

“They are both quite ambitious and they want to do well – I’m confident they can look forward to good career prospects following this.”

Choosing to train the next generation of staff via a Business Administration Apprenticeship benefits both the apprentice and the company. The company receives help with training and development, and the apprentices are given the opportunity to build their confidence while working with a team of experienced people.

Paul added: “B38 is fully supportive of what we’re doing and that really helps.

“When you get an enthusiastic employer it makes the trainer’s job easier; the enthusiasm of the company rubs off on the employees and that filters through the workforce.”

B38 initially turned to B-Skill to explore the feasibility of running the apprenticeship course and in the end, decided to offer the qualification to an existing member of staff as well as recruiting a new apprentice.

B38 operations manager (North), James Barlow, said: “B-Skill’s approach was extremely flexible throughout and we received constant re-assurance that there were many different training options available to ensure that our learners received the most appropriate method for them and that they felt supported throughout the process.

“Our learners have now made considerable progress and the organisation, support and flexibility demonstrated by B-Skill at the onset of this project has remained constant throughout.

“We look forward to continuing to work with B-Skill in the future as other training and recruitment opportunities arise.”

B-Skill’s national client relationship manager, Andrea Aylwin, said: “We worked with the B38 Group to find the right training package to meet its needs. B-Skill never takes the one-size fits all approach, and we work with all of our clients on an individual basis to find out what works best for them.

“We’re delighted by the fantastic feedback from both B38, which is further proof that our individual approach really works for business.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Tom Keighley .