Celebrating National Apprenticeship Week with skills for life

Apprentices past and present at Berneslai Homes have shared their stories to celebrate this year’s National Apprenticeship Week which has the theme ‘Skills for Life.’

Improving opportunities for employment and training is one of our strategic ambitions and our apprenticeship programme has a strong track record of building a better future for local people.

Apprenticeships help us to grow the skills that are needed within the business, whilst also providing a great alternative to higher education pathways for local people, giving people of all ages the learning and experience they need to succeed in their careers.

Apprentices spend twenty per cent of their work time on off-the-job training which includes regular day or block release to college, special training days, and practical workshops. We’re proud to work closely with local partners including Arena Training, Barnsley College, EN: Able Futures, JTL, Leeds College of Building, and The Sheffield College to offer a range of fantastic apprenticeship opportunities in the Barnsley area.

Berneslai Homes currently employs 27 apprentices across the business, made up of 8 office-based and 19 craft apprentices working in a range of early careers including gas plumbing, plastering, joinery, roofing, stores and procurement, planning support, operational support, governance, and customer services.

The film features some of our current apprentices who are earning while learning specialist skills on the job and delivering a great service to residents in Barnsley. The film also hears from a range of different employees who have built on the skills they gained as apprentices to develop their careers into more senior roles.

Ken Taylor, Chair of Berneslai Homes, said: “We’re proud of our track record in offering apprenticeships, meaning local people can earn and learn with us in a wide range of careers within the housing sector. The stories from within our business show that the sky’s the limit when it comes to future job prospects and we’re looking forward to seeing our current apprentices develop their careers further.”

If you’re interested in hearing about future apprenticeship opportunities with Berneslai Homes, register for a ‘vacancy alert’ on our recruitment website here.