Total Water Solutions, a new division of Northumbrian Water Group, believes that maintaining a high level of investment in apprenticeships is invaluable to most businesses.
Tracey Greener, Training Contracts Manager at Northumbrian Water, said TWS recognised there was a major skills gap in the engineering sector and saw the value of ‘growing its own talent’ from the bottom up.
The Durham-based company, which also has operations in Essex and Suffolk, places apprentices in different areas to learn about all aspects of the business.
Tracey said: “We have a full-time mentor for our apprentices who does everything from tool box talks, to health and safety information and workshop machinery updates.
“Our apprentices also have tradesmen for one-to-one training and we feel that, by the end of their training, they know our business and the industry inside out.”
After a recent project to help Esh Group improve its water infrastructure, TWS became aware of Esh’s sustainability programme and proposed the Northumbrian Water Ltd would benefit from it.
The success of the project and the training expertise within the Northumbrian Water Group, led to a roll out to all Northumbrian Water apprentices and we will look to introduce it to out training matrix.
“Ensuring our workforce, including our apprentices, have a good understanding of the importance of conservation and environmental issues is a key part of Northumbrian Water’s values.
“The programme benefits apprentices at both companies and arms them with additional competencies that they will apply throughout their future careers,” Tracey explained.
In recognition of the work the company has put into developing its own apprenticeships programme, Northumbrian Water Limited won Apprenticeship Employer of the Year at an Apprenticeship Awards hosted by Newcastle College, where classroom learning modules take place.
Tracey said: “It was a celebration of the significant investment and time dedicated to apprenticeship integration within our business, and goes to show how well our partnership with Newcastle College has progressed.
“By bringing young people into the business, and supporting them at every step of their development, you are not only teaching vital skills from the people who know the job inside-out, you are also safeguarding your future workforce for generations to come.”