Silverstone Park occupier Nicab Ltd has highlighted the importance of investing in apprenticeships in this, National Apprenticeship Week.
Nicab, which niches in manufacturing high-end cable and wiring harnesses for industries such as defence and medical, has a proven track record of bringing on new young talent through apprenticeships.
Apprenticeships enable apprentices – often young people out of school – to learn an industry skill whilst working for and being paid by a company.
MD Nick Locke stated: “Apprenticeships are ‘the future’, quite literally.
“As a business, you’re training the next generation of employees for your industry and all industries need advocates and ambassadors.
“For businesses like ours, which specialise in a particular area of industry, then training the next generation is essential… otherwise that industry will start to have problems.”
Six of Nicab’s current 25-strong workforce have trained as apprentices with the business which has run apprenticeship schemes for over a decade.
All are under 23 years of age with the youngest just 16. The average age of Nicab’s workforce is in its early 30s.
Last year, the business won The Engineering Trust’s Apprentice Employer of the Year Award.
“Apprenticeships are a fantastic way for young people to begin their careers,” added Nick.
“They experience the workplace, learn what work ethics are and they are paid by the company to learn a skill or skills.
“By the time they complete their apprenticeship they are ‘oven ready’ for employers. They haven’t just been sitting in a classroom learning the theory – they have shown they can hold down a job and can hit the ground running which is great for employers.
“We love it when apprentices stay with us and we see them grow and we’re proud to say that several now hold quite senior positions within our business.”
Caption: MD Nick Locke with Business Administrator and Production Technician apprentices respectively, Imogen Robertson (17) and Thomas Craney (19), through their apprenticeships at Nicab via Capita and The Engineering Trust.
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