To celebrate National Apprenticeship Week 2021, our Operations Director John Allam, presents the vital role of Apprentices to Amthal, and how their employment continues to be a key strategy to the company, and arguably industry, success.
Amthal has always been a big supporter of Apprentices as a way to create a more open business environment. Since the company started our apprenticeship programme over 15 years ago, we have employed, retained (and promoted to senior levels,) the majority of our Apprentices.
Currently, we have more than 10 apprentices working with us across our business, who are being supervised by the company’s senior team. In each individual, we value the opportunity to encourage job-specific skills to achieve more of our customer demands, quickly and efficiently.
Beating the Skills Shortage
We also believe training Apprentices is countering a long-held issue of a skills shortage in the industry.
With not enough qualified engineers coming out of colleges and being trained in-house or conversely looking in the industry, they are either too multi-disciplined to specialise or struggling to keep up with the pace of technological change.
The natural solution is to create an environment where the more traditional workers can embrace technology to benefit the business (and themselves.). But it’s also setting the scene for the new generations coming into the workforce to see the potential of a commitment to the sector.
Embracing Company Culture
I believe, it’s up to company owners to set the standard with best work practices that meet these objectives. It includes flexible working, open communications throughout a company (not being too email focussed,) training opportunities and creating more focussed time for productivity and effective work without distraction.
The solutions that make the difference enable workplace flexibility, make the most of employees’ valuable work time without demanding stressful always-on availability, all without comprising competence or operational efficiency. And this approach has proven vital to business operations through lockdown and our critical worker status of lockdown.
At Amthal creating this working environment is at the heart of our business mission, vision and values. And it’s the small ways that we make a difference; for example referring to our staff members always as a team. We also embrace employee engagement and performance management in an open and approachable way.
Industry Forward
In return, our Apprentices are ready and committed to adopt to new innovations, and embrace the smart technologies in security. In fire safety, itself a significant growth market, naturally since the tragedy of Grenfell Tower, Apprentices can help us lead the way to face increasing stringent fire safety regulations, technological advances and product innovations.
For Amthal, the new generation and the apprentice programme, allows each individual to settle into their defined role, learn their skills and take responsibility with their dedicated line manager for their own growth. And this is also true behind the scenes where we have Apprentices in Sales Support, Business Operations and Finance.
In the company’s experience, we would agree with Apprenticeships and Skills Minister Gillian Keegan who said: “Apprenticeships are an excellent way to get into a wide range of rewarding and valuable careers.”
Here lies the potential for a fresher industry wide working environment, with the necessary ability to achieve the requirements of today’s increasingly discerning customers.
To find out more information regarding Amthal apprenticeship programmes visit our Careers page.