Jess chooses apprenticeship route after ‘A’ Levels

A 19-year-old from Shrewsbury has secured a full time position with Chemical Watch, after completing an apprenticeship with County Training, part of Shropshire Council.

After leaving sixth form in 2012, Jess Breakwell chose to enrol on an apprenticeship with County Training.  She completed this with Chemical Watch, a chemicals and environmental news publisher in Shrewsbury.  After 12 months working towards a Business and Administration Level 3 Apprenticeship, gaining vocational qualifications and building essential employment skills, Jess has been offered a full time position as a ‘Client Relationship Executive’.

Jess attended Shrewsbury Sixth Form where she completed ‘A’ Levels in history, ICT and psychology.  As part of her decision-making as to what to do after college, she decided to attend a County Training ‘Secure Your Apprenticeship’ event at Theatre Severn, where she decided that an apprenticeship would be the best option for her.

Chemical Watch were advertising an apprenticeship position through County Training, for an ‘Apprentice Business Administrator’.  Jess applied and was interviewed by County Training before attending an interview with Chemical Watch’s Director, Julian Rose.  Julian offered Jess the position before she received her final ‘A’ Level results.  Jess then had the summer holidays to enjoy, before starting her apprenticeship in September.

Jess commented:

“I’ve really enjoyed my time as an apprentice at Chemical Watch, and I’m very pleased that they have offered me a permanent job here.  I really enjoy my work and my role is constantly developing.  It never feels like I’m coming to work.  On my first day, I was nervous but excited, everyone made me feel very welcome, and I even had emails from other branches welcoming me to the company.”

Jess found the whole experience invaluable, adding:

“From day one I was allocated a vocational assessor who visited me regularly to assess and mentor me throughout my training.”

Julian Rose, Company Director at Chemical Watch, has also found the apprenticeship programme key in Jess’ success:

“There was no doubt that we would offer Jess a permanent position here; she’s brought so much to our team from IT skills to her enthusiasm.  Our business has grown rapidly – from two people in 2007 to 25 today.  We have employed five apprentices so far, with different qualifications to suit our business needs.  All of our apprentices are eager to learn and it’s a great way to bring new talent and capacity into the business.  We will definitely look at recruiting further apprentices in the future.”

Now that Jess has completed her 12-month advanced apprenticeship, she has progressed onto completing a recognised mentoring qualification with County Training, which is enabling her to act as a mentor for the company’s new apprentice.  Jess’ role is constantly developing and growing, and her apprenticeship has meant she has developed skills and experiences to work in areas that she would never have expected, including media partnerships, liaising with journalists, website development and data management.

Ann Hartley, Shropshire Council’s Cabinet member for children’s services – transformation and safeguarding, said:

“This is fantastic news for Jess.  It demonstrates how valuable apprenticeships are and how they play a big role in helping young people living in the county the opportunity of a successful career.  Apprenticeships really are a valuable asset to businesses throughout Shropshire, and the experience it gives our school and college leavers is essential to the continued growth of our economy.”

In the future Jess is looking to develop her skills and career at Chemical Watch, and would recommend an apprenticeship to all school and college leavers.

Are you interested in taking on an apprentice?

County Training is part of Shropshire Council and is here to support local businesses.  We are ideally placed to offer expert advice on the recruitment of apprenticeships, including being able to give you access to hundreds of young people who are currently looking for apprenticeship opportunities, and are able to advise you on which apprenticeship programme would suit your business needs.

County Training make taking on an apprentice easy, offering a free expert support service for employers, to guide you through the whole process.  They also provide ‘apprenticeships vacancies’, a free online recruitment tool that matches potential apprentices with your vacancies, and they have a dedicated business support team who will assist you through the apprenticeships process from first enquiry to completion.  Eligible employers may be entitled to a grant of £1,500 to help with apprenticeship wage costs.  If you are unable to recruit new staff, but already employ someone aged 16 or above, then your business can still take advantage of the funding available to train your existing staff.

County Training offer apprenticeships in brewing, business and administration, childcare, customer services, computer-aided design, equine, hairdressing and barbering, health and social care, hospitality and catering, IT, management, motor vehicle, nail services, support teaching, team leading, and warehousing and storage.

Alternatively, if you are a 16- to 24-year-old currently seeking an apprenticeship, get in touch.

Call County Training on 0345 678 9023 or email countytraining@shropshire.gov.uk.