Rail infrastructure specialist Spencer Group is deepening its commitment to developing young talent by building on its successful apprenticeship programme with a new cohort and buddy scheme.
This year’s cohort of 13 young people includes six engineering apprentices, two each in commercial, marketing and IT roles and one plant fitting apprentice.
It represents the company’s second largest intake of apprentices and takes the total number employed to more than 65 in just seven years.
Every year the apprentices are assigned an experienced mentor who guides them through their studies, but this year they will also be linked up with a buddy, who has first-hand experience of transitioning from full-time education into the world of work.
As a Founding Partner of Hull’s employer-led school, Ron Dearing University Technical College (UTC), Spencer Group colleagues work closely with students in all year groups, leading workshops, hosting careers talks and attending open events. The business also welcomes students for work experience placements, and supports employability skills training and mock interviews.
This relationship has created a productive pipeline of fresh talent for the engineering industry as well as opening up exciting and rewarding opportunities for young people.
Spencer Group Executive Chairman and founder, Charlie Spencer OBE, said: “We’re delighted to welcome our latest cohort of apprentices. At Spencer Group we’re passionate about developing new talent and providing young people with opportunities to gain professional qualifications while learning from our experienced team of mentors.
“Year on year we’re seeing the standard of work readiness increasing among our apprentice intake, which is a testament to the exceptional level of education and careers support provided by the dedicated team at Ron Dearing UTC.”
This year saw a record number of almost 100 apprenticeship applications received from the UTC, demonstrating the exceptionally high regard Spencer Group’s apprenticeship programme is held in.
Spencer Group is also keen to encourage more women to consider a career in the male-dominated engineering sector, with colleagues working closely with female students at Ron Dearing to raise more awareness of opportunities in the industry.
When Spencer Group first began working with the school, just 2% of its apprenticeship applications came from females, but Spencer Group’s work to change perceptions about the industry has contributed to this increasing to 27%.
Jessica Dickinson, also 18, is beginning her Civil Engineering Degree Apprenticeship after studying Engineering and Creative iMedia at Ron Dearing UTC.
She said: “Engineering is still a male-dominated field, but that has never put me off pursuing my goals. If anything, it spurs me on to prove people wrong and show that women can do just as well, if not even better!
“My teachers at Ron Dearing were always really supportive and encouraging of female students considering a career in engineering, and, when I met the team from Spencer Group, I set my heart on securing an apprenticeship with the business because everyone was so lovely.
“I’m really looking forward to getting stuck into new things. I’m open minded about what part of the industry I want to work in and one of the great things about Spencer Group is that we get to rotate around the business and learn more about the different opportunities and career pathways.”
