New apprentices for Trelawny
Trelawny SPT Ltd manufactures tools and machines for
surface preparation for the construction and marine industries.
It was many years since the firm had taken on apprentices but
they did so in order to meet recruitment needs within the
business.
The company currently has three apprentices, working in
engineering, quality engineering and logistics.
General Manager, Steve Williams, explained why they had decided
to re-introduce apprenticeships to the company: “We are a small
company of 25 staff and we were finding that we couldn’t recruit
staff with the skills we needed. We took the strategic decision to
open up our vacancies to apprentices and to train up our own people
with the right skills to work in our company. When there is a
vacancy now, we see if an apprenticeship would be suitable.
“Warwickshire College provided lots of help and support to us in
setting up the apprenticeship scheme. It wasn’t something that we
had been involved with for many years and they supported us through
the whole process.
“We are taking the longer term view that it is important to
invest in the skills for the future of our company. Apprenticeships
enable us to recruit people with the right attitude and enthusiasm,
who want to get ahead – after a couple of years, we have a member
of staff who is exactly trained to our requirements.
“I would absolutely recommend apprenticeships to other small
companies. Some companies might be reluctant because times are hard
but it is a relatively low-risk strategy. Recruiting an apprentice
and training them is much less expensive than hiring an experienced
member of staff.
“It is really rewarding to take a young person who wants to get
ahead and equip them with the skills for their future career – I am
a firm believer that this is something companies should be
doing.”
Shona Haswell originally came to college on the ‘Level-Up’
programme, having not achieved the grades she needed at school. She
spent just over six months at college, improving her English, maths
and IT skills, and did work experience with Trelawny as part of the
course.
Following a successful placement, she joined the company as a
logistics apprentice and hopes to eventually move into assembly or
engineering. Shona said: “I wanted to do a mechanics apprenticeship
a few years ago but I didn’t get the grades I needed. At college, I
found the tutors gave me lots of support and also treated me like
an adult – I didn’t get moaned at all the time!
"The course was structured and very easy to follow as it adopted
a step by step approach. Doing the course also gave me lots of
confidence and, after my work experience, I got an
apprenticeship."