Setting great store by the next generation of workers
Retail industry to benefit from 10,000 apprenticeships
Workplace development specialists, Ethical Skills & Training (EST) has been awarded a new contract to provide up to 10,000 apprenticeships across the retail industry over the next 18-months.
Working with operators to help ‘up-skill’ their workforce, EST’s unique apprenticeship+ programme will focus on both the technical and ‘soft’ skills necessary to ensure that the newly skilled employees will help meet identified organisational goals.
“For us, training is not just about ticking boxes,” said EST’s CEO, Elaine Barrett. “We believe in a different model. We believe that our apprenticeships must deliver real value both to the business and to the learner. We believe that our apprenticeships must have clearly identified targets and deliverables which are agreed at the outset, and we believe in measuring and evaluating what we have delivered at the end of the programme.
Barrett adds: “For us it’s not about gaining a ‘piece of paper’ at the end, but about helping to turn raw talent into a corporate assets.”
The National Apprenticeship Service (NAS) contract will see EST working with up to 10,000 employees from 18 years old to the over 25s. Learners will be able to choose from a range of bespoke apprenticeship+ programmes as part of this new initiative, including Customer Service and Business Administration through to Operational Services. On average the programmes are run over six months and are delivered by EST’s team of 100 dedicated assessors who are based across the country.
Each apprenticeship+ programme combines four key elements, irrespective of the subject title. These comprise technical skills development, soft skills coaching, mentoring and development of employability skills.
