Will ISO QSL sail away with apprentice-ship award??

23 Sep, 2014

ISO Quality services are delighted to announce that they have been short-listed for Apprenticeship employer of the year (Small business) at the Worcestershire Annual Apprenticeship Awards 2014.

The development and growth of the individual is something that is at the very core of what ISO Quality Services stand for and the development of our apprenticeship scheme is seen as a vital element of this.

As discussed in previous articles, we currently have 3 colleagues that are either in the middle of or close to completing their apprenticeships, them being Natalie, Emily and Mike. All 3 have proved invaluable members of the team with each bringing fresh enthusiasm and ideas.

The nomination process for the awards consisted of five sections, those being:

• Demonstrating the company’s commitment to embedding an apprenticeship scheme,
• The benefits and measures of the scheme,
• How the apprentices themselves have benefited from the scheme,
• What makes our apprenticeship scheme stand out and,
• What would winning the award mean to our business.

The process enabled us to illustrate that the scheme filled the gap left by a skills shortage, as well as highlighting the fact that the company has either extended or looking to extend the apprenticeships of all three apprentices.

As a company were able to show how our apprentices have contributed to the period of rapid growth that the company has seen in recent years. This was done by implementing a comprehensive appraisal system.

The apprentices themselves have benefited during their period with us because they have gained valuable workplace experience, as well as undergone regular training and achieved recognised qualifications. Furthermore, it has allowed them to clarify in their own minds, where they see their career heading.

Our scheme has worked because we treat each apprentice just like any other employee and so they have become part of the family.

The scheme has also been and will continue to be successful because each apprentice will gain an all round knowledge of what happens within a business. The reason for which being that because we are a small close knit team, each member must be prepared to help out other departments and not just the one that they belong to.

Naturally as a company we are delighted that our dedication to providing opportunities to those new to employment has been recognised. On being short-listed, Operations Director Jennifer Appleton commented,

“We have found that our apprenticeship scheme has been a tremendous success, not only for us as a company but also for our apprentices themselves as they have each flourished during their time with us. Also, for us to have been recognised in this way is as much down to Natalie, Emily and Mike, as it is ISO Quality Services”.

The Awards ceremony will take place on the 27^th November 2014 at the West Midlands Safari Park and will be hosted by Nick Hewer of “The Apprentice” fame. Nick himself has been championing the value of apprenticeships within business for some time and when asked about their importance has said, “I firmly believe that apprenticeships offer a great start for young people, providing them with the skills, experience and knowledge they need for their future careers. It will be a pleasure to host the Worcestershire Apprenticeship Awards and to celebrate all the great achievements being made.”

Throughout the evening there will be 12 awards presented, being 6 for individual apprentices, as well as 6 employer awards, including one that we are nominated for. The awards being presented are as follows:
Apprentice Awards

• Worcestershire Apprentice of the year – sponsored by The Community Housing Group
• High level apprentice of the year – sponsored by 3SDL
• Advanced level apprentice of the year – sponsored by Fortis Living
• Intermediate level apprentice of the year – sponsored by Morgan Cars
• Pre apprentice of the year – sponsored by Worcestershire Training Providers Association
• School of the year – sponsored by Connecting Schools and Business

Employer Awards

• Worcestershire Apprenticeship Employer of the year – sponsored by Worcester Bosch
• Apprenticeship employer of the year – large business – sponsored by E-Response Recruitment
• Apprenticeship employer of the year – Medium business – sponsored by Yamazaki Mazak
• Apprenticeship employer of the year – small business – sponsored by Central Technology Belt
• Apprenticeship employer of the year – Newcomer – sponsored by Herefordshire & Worcestershire Chamber of Commerce
• Lifetime achievement award – sponsored by Chartered Institute of Personnel & Development

Winners of the 12 awards will each be given a special trophy designed by a Worcestershire school. The successful design will be turned into trophies by Worcester based company, Yamazaki Mazak UK Ltd