Sponsoring Company Testimonials
The Sutton Academy - Angela Webster
The Sutton Academy is a centre of excellence for learning and education with sponsors like St Helens College and Edge Hill University providing education to students of 11-18 years of age.Angela says "Every student has a spark and our mission at The Sutton Academy is to find it, nurture it and watch it grow into a flame. After education it is important that this continues, developing both the individual and The Sutton Academy. Waterside was recommended to us as an apprenticeship provider and after discussion with them and reflection; we decided that an Apprentice was a fantastic opportunity to invest in our future".
"Waterside helped us assess what we needed by designing the selection process and the apprenticeship programme for our business needs. We have now recruited two apprentices, one in Finance who has completed a years training programme but more recently we have recruited an ICT apprentice on a three year programme, which is a brand new area for progression."
"It is important that we develop our employees and by recruiting an apprentice we are giving an individual a fantastic opportunity to develop and grow in our changing environment and new build development phase. Waterside assisted us in achieving this with their years of experience and expertise of finding the ideal candidate and programme design. As a school we have limited time available for long recruitment processes and Waterside provided us with the opportunity to find the right caliber of candidate in a tight timeframe along with providing us with excellent guidance on how to start, manage and run our new ICT apprenticeship programme. After recruitment, Waterside has guided us on managing our apprentice and attends regular review sessions to ensure we have the best requirements for our business."
Angela Webster
Finance Director
The Sutton Academy
NSG Group (Pilkington) - Gary Charlton
NSG Group has major Manufacturing Centres based in St Helens and Lathom and employs around 3,000 people across the UK. Activities range from the manufacture of float/rolled glass to glass processing and merchanting, automotive original equipment (OE) and automotive glass replacement (AGR) manufacture and are among the most modern manufacturing techniques and environments in Europe being at the forefront of new product technology.Gary says "Pilkington’s philosophy of ‘best practice’ means that its employees need to be flexible, well rounded and highly skilled in its production, engineering and maintenance units. We believe that apprentices are the best way forward to ensure that we have sufficient numbers of highly skilled workers for the future so we are able to develop the new talent we need for our business."
"Waterside’s selection process identifies the right candidates we require for our business in Engineering and Production and they ensure we have the right qualities in terms of attitude, flexibility and self motivation. We have the confidence in the people running the programme and in the quality of the apprentices we obtain. The formula is tried and tested and the structure really works for us. Many apprentices who have since completed their training have progressed into senior positions within our business."
"Waterside manages the apprentice process and provides detailed progress reports removing the hassle and time consuming process that can be inherited with apprenticeship programmes. We believe that using Waterside gives us a greater degree of independence as sponsors ensuring we get the right requirements for our business. We have considered alternatives but they don’t have the knowledge or mind set that Waterside has and Waterside’s management thinks like we do creating and developing the right people we need for our future business needs. We will continue to use Waterside for Apprentice training as the benefits we receive are greater than the cheaper alternatives."
Gary Charlton
Managing Director, Building Products UK Upstream
NSG Group (Pilkington)
Walkers Snack Foods (PepsiCo International) - Paul Gwyther
Pepsico International manufactures and offers a range of popular snacks, including Walkers potato crisps, Walkers Extra Crunchy, Quavers and Monster Munch.Paul Gwyther, said "For our business to be productive we need a flexible workforce to run our plant and by taking on apprentices we can mould them to our business, hence our need to develop and invest in our future workforce to secure leaders for the future."
"After speaking with Waterside, an apprenticeship scheme seemed to be an area where we could develop and harness fresh new talent. We looked at alternative suppliers and after a rigorous selection process we opted to use Waterside as they offered more than just an apprenticeship service, they also offered the guidance, advice and softer skills training; tailoring the programme to the requirements of our business needs. They understand our requirements. Our engineering manager was familiar with the Waterside process as a previous apprentice of the Waterside scheme. For this reason we knew the process was tried and tested. We have also undertaken technical training to up-skill our workforce, which our employees have given excellent feedback and we have been very happy with the service provided."
"This was the first time we had gone through developing an apprenticeship scheme and Waterside helped us with all the aspects, walking us through the process from assisting with our recruitment and selection process giving us advice and guidance, recruiting exactly the right people we need for our business, they understood our requirements and we have commenced our programme and our apprentices are now successful settling into their training at Waterside."
"I would recommend the Waterside method to any business that wants to safeguard its future skills base as they can give you the direction and assistance you need, you are not alone in setting up such as system and the quality of the people we have obtained is beyond comparison and is of a far higher value to the company."
Paul Gwyther
Organisational Capability Coordinator
Walkers Snack Foods (PepsiCo International)
H.J.Heinz Company Ltd - Simon Magleave
"For over 40 years Heinz has been committed to an apprenticeship scheme at its Kitt Green factory to guarantee that the engineering skills needed to maintain the site are available long term. We want to provide the best possible training to ensure we develop engineers with greatest capability and can do attitude.We’re always looking for ways to improve the quality of training that the apprentice programme provides and we saw the partnership with Waterside as an opportunity to improve the learning experience. We’ve worked with Waterside now for around four years and in that time have built a close relationship, and with it confidence in the quality of services that they offer. With up to 30 apprentices within the programme at any one time it is difficult to be as close to their progress as we’d like to be. Working with Waterside gives us this insight for each apprentice and enables us to respond more quickly to potential challenges. We also benefit from the experience of the team at Waterside and the support that they offer our apprentices throughout the programme.
Having this close relationship has also allowed us to explore additional training courses to those within the standard apprentice framework. Waterside has worked with us to develop tailored training solutions to meet some of our more specific needs. This flexibility has allowed us to improve the quality and focus of our training programme over the last few years."
Simon Magleave
Maintenance Development Manager
Site Engineering
H.J.Heinz Company Ltd
BHW Components - Keith Brightcliffe
From the outset, Waterside has proved to be consummate in providing a training programme that coincided with my company’s requirements. Their selection process, whilst strict polarizes the candidates to a manageable number expediting the interviewing process. The sponsorship structure removed potential hurdles that may have otherwise dissuaded my company to invest in an apprenticeship programme. In my experience the standard of training provided is second to none with emphasis not only on the skill sets of a particular discipline, but also work and team ethics, which are equally as important.
The regular onsite one to one visits by Waterside assessors with the apprentices allowed their training requirements to be tailored to our particular manufacturing needs. They provided encouragement and guidance every step of the way and presented excellent ‘feed- back’ reports on their progress. We are currently sponsoring two apprentices who are nearing their completion of an HNC qualification in electrical and mechanical skill sets respectively after which we are hoping to recruit them both on a permanent basis.
I strongly believe that it is imperative for companies to invest in apprenticeship schemes and can assist businesses by providing a route to harness new talent. Recruitment difficulties and skill shortages are possibly a greater threat to companies than the current economic climate. Apprenticeships ensure that your workforce has the practical skills and qualifications to meet your organisational needs both currently and for the future. They also help you develop the specialist skills you need to keep pace with the latest technology and working practices within your particular sector.
My supposition on the benefits that apprentices bring to a business include increased productivity, improved competitiveness and a committed and competent work-force and the programme Waterside provides is one that would be hard to beat.
Keith Brightcliffe MSc BSc Hon’s CMgr MCMI
Facilities & HSE Manager
NSG Group - Stuart Jamieson
The NSG Group has used the Modern Apprentice framework to support succession planning since 1999. Whilst direct graduate recruitment was always a possibility, for some roles the much greater emphasis placed upon practical laboratory skills meant that many new graduates entering the jobs market were insufficiently experienced in even basic laboratory practice. In adopting the apprenticeship route, we were able to develop an in-house solution to an industry-wide problem.Waterside, as apprentice employer, oversaw the initial recruitment, selection and ongoing monitoring of the new recruits – as a business we were able to concentrate on the training and development of the individual. This comprised a structured approach to laboratory practice, working in different areas with experienced analysts to develop the necessary skills to support the business going forward.
The apprentices were further supported both by Waterside and the NSG Group in their formal academic studies in association with St Helens College. All the laboratory-based recruits complete their BTEC, HNC and NVQ Level 3 qualifications ahead of any formal offer of permanent employment being made at the end of the four-year placement.
To date, the Analysis and Spectroscopy (A+S) section, based at the Group’s European Technical Centre at Lathom, has put five individuals through this process. Four have become full-time NSG Group employees (a fifth is in her final year of the apprentice framework); two have gone on to achieve part-time degree course success (including a 2:1 Masters award) with two others currently working towards degrees in Geology and Applied Chemistry. As a further indicator of the value of the programme, three of the recruits have moved out of A+S and are actively using their acquired skills (both practical and theoretical) in manufacturing, product testing and Online Coating technology environments. In short, the skills gained provide a sound basis for ongoing personal development and progression and, where managed effectively, the scheme is an asset to any business.
Stuart Jamieson (MSc CChem MRSC FSGT)
Manager - Analysis and Spectroscopy,
Offline Coatings and Science Support Group,
NSG European Technical Centre