Bellway is set to become one of the first major British housebuilders to achieve ‘5% Club’ status when it reaches its apprenticeship target this year.
The company, which builds houses across England, Scotland and Wales, has pledged that apprentices will make up five per cent of its workforce. With 140 apprentices now on its books and more being recruited, Bellway is set to hit that target in 2019.
Bellway’s Greg Allsop, Head of Sales for Bellway London, said:
“We offer a range of apprenticeships at Bellway, because it gives us a chance to take an active role in moulding the company’s future workforce.
“Apprenticeships are a fantastic way of nurturing talent within the industry and creating the skills to help the business expand.
“But this isn’t a one-way street – apprenticeships also offer unbeatable opportunities for people to learn new skills and go on to enjoy happy and fulfilling careers.”
Across the Bellway group, the company already has 140 employees on an apprenticeship in a huge variety of roles, from ‘traditional’ house builder occupations like bricklaying and carpentry, to jobs most large firms require, like accountancy or procurement and supply.
In 2018 the company became a member of the 5% Club (www.5percentclub.org.uk), an employer-led organisation whose members pledge to work towards having five per cent of their workforce on a formal apprenticeship, student or graduate development scheme within five years.
Greg Allsop said:
“At Bellway we have taken a lead in employing apprentices and injecting youthful talent into our company.
“We have also partnered with the Collab Group, an organisation of large further education colleges which deliver high quality apprenticeships to national employers such as ourselves. The partnership ensures consistency and quality of training for our apprentices across the country.
“The aim of the 5% Club is to employ five per cent apprentices by 2023. Because we have been so proactive in apprentice recruitment, we will certainly achieve our five per cent target in 2019.”