Wendy Nobbs, our Director of Sales and Recruitment shares her experience.

I’ve had a long Learning and Development career within the Banking, Insurance, Utilities and Membership industries. In my last role, as an L&D Business Partner, I was responsible for our apprentice Harry who had recently joined the team aged 17 after dropping out of college. My initial thoughts were that he was going to be a ‘time bandit’ and someone I just need to keep occupied for a year until he completed his qualification… how wrong I was!

My work life received a fresh injection of new experiences and learning on a daily basis. Unexpectedly, I experienced youth again by seeing our business and life in general through the eyes of a 17 year old who brought modern thinking, creativity, passion and a competitive appetite for personal success. Recently, three years on, I met up with Harry – he has progressed into a Learning & Development Advisor role, responsible for delivering the LMS (Learning Management System) training strategy for a large investment company in London.

Harry has said he’s willing for me to share his views to help employers understand the benefits they apprentices bring to the workplace.

He said “Working with an amazing and supportive HR team and being given the opportunity to work on so many transformational projects whilst completing my apprenticeship, honestly, changed my life. I learnt so many new skills and how to behave appropriately in a business environment. After my first year with the company, I was given the opportunity to lead on two projects: the implementation of a company-wide Apprenticeship programme, along with a new LMS system, both resulting in significant cost savings for the business. This gave my confidence a massive boost and I became hungry for new challenges. Being part of a team where I was trusted and given the opportunity to really get involved in the business made achieving my L&D qualification easy as I had access to so many opportunities to learn and gather real evidence throughout.”

Back to me, Wendy: I joined Rewards Training Consultancy to help promote Apprenticeships after having benefited personally from supporting the Apprenticeship journey in my last role. We are here to help businesses achieve their own L&D and, ultimately, business goals. I have a fantastic and experienced team, passionate about training and supporting their apprentices to achieve their qualifications, who also understand the value that Apprenticeships bring to business. We provide Recruitment Solutions as well as delivering Apprenticeships, in the Business, Hospitality and Care sectors, predominantly throughout the South.

All too often, we speak to employers who say, “We do not have the time or resources to invest in an apprentice.” I felt the same, I had targets to meet and didn’t need a distraction. I never considered the fact that an apprentice could help me achieve my goals and influence a change in my attitude, behaviour and aspirations, at the same time.

Thank you for taking the time to read my story – I hope that it has encouraged you to take a moment to reflect on your own business.