Member Article

Cestria rated as top employer by apprentices

A County Durham housing association has been named alongside some of the UK’s biggest employers as one of the best places to work by trainees and apprentices.

Cestria Community Housing was placed at number 24 on a list of the 72 Top Employers for School & College Leavers, joining companies such as Asda, Nestle and Virgin Media.

In addition, the Chester-le-Street based company, which employs 160 people, was also named as one of the Top Intermediate Apprenticeships providers, coming in at number 7 on a list of 24 national organisations.

The news was announced at the Top Employers for School & College Leavers awards, which are organised by AllAboutSchoolLeavers.co.uk and recognise companies that raise awareness of and deliver apprenticeships, school leaver programmes and sponsored degrees.

All the companies included on the list were voted for and rated by their own apprentices and trainees through anonymous satisfaction surveys.

Cestria’s HR Manager Christine Wilkinson said: “We had no idea we were going to make it onto the list so it was a fantastic surprise, especially when you look at some of the other organisations included, many of which are national London-based businesses.

“The fact that the awards are based on apprentice feedback is a great endorsement for our apprenticeship programme, which is something we have put a lot of investment into over recent years.

“We are really keen to provide people with the skills they need to enter the job market and some of our apprentices have now gone on to get permanent jobs with us so we are really investing in the future of our organisation at the same time.”

This is the latest success for Cestria’s apprenticeship programme, with the company also winning a place on the Top 100 Apprenticeship Employers list last year.

The company currently employs seven apprentices, both in trade and office-based apprenticeships.

They are supported through an in-house mentoring programme and a job shadowing scheme, which allows them to work with people from other areas of the business, giving them a better understanding of the company as a whole.

The organisations included on the Top Employers for School & College Leavers list were rated by employees based on areas such as skills development, career progression, salary, working environment, work-life balance and overall job satisfaction.

Cestria Managing Director Martin Warhurst said: “This is fantastic news for Cestria and really demonstrates our commitment to creating apprenticeships and supporting our apprentices. I’d like to congratulate all the staff involved.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Kelly Elliott .