Selco Makes 500 Apprentices Pledge

We're delighted to mark National Apprenticeship Week by committing to deliver 500 apprenticeships for our colleagues by 2030.

We've delivered a number of innovative apprenticeship programmes in recent years, ranging from Rising Stars for colleagues working in branches, Driver Academy for team members wanting to switch to a career as a HGV driver, and a new Women In Leadership programme launched last year.

We've now taken our apprenticeship offering to the next level with the pledge for the next five years, as part of the Builders Merchants Federation’s challenge for the industry as a whole, to deliver 15,000 apprentices by 2030.

Our commitment has got off to a flying start with more than 100 colleagues already engaged in, or signed up for, an apprenticeship – including 37 new Rising Stars and Sales Academy enrolments just prior to Christmas.

Sally Kerr, HR Director for Selco, said: “We're extremely proud of our training offering to colleagues and the apprenticeship delivery plays a huge role in that.

“There are a number of reasons we are so passionate about apprenticeships and they include driving career development progression opportunities for our colleagues and ensuring our teams are constantly pushing the boundaries when it comes to delivering outstanding customer service.

“We've seen great success in our apprenticeship programmes so far and look forward to seeing that continually expand in the months and years to come.”

Run in conjunction with one of the UK’s leading training providers Realise, Rising Stars is available at gold, silver and bronze level and helps branch colleagues move to the next level of their careers.

Sally added: “All our programmes are tailored to meet the specific needs and offering of Selco. We select courses with a high level of practical elements and then make it bespoke to the requirements of our operations here at Selco.

“That means that our colleagues are learning by putting into practice the work they do on a day-to-day basis, gaining greater knowledge for their current job and having a tangible benefit to their careers.

“We've already seen a high number of our colleagues not only complete their apprenticeship and achieve their qualification, but also secure a promotion off the back of it.

“We're committed to giving colleagues the chance to create a genuine career path and providing them with the skills, techniques and self-development to do that. We're looking forward to celebrating many more apprentices in the future.”

In addition to the main schemes, we have colleagues currently completing apprenticeships in other business areas including finance, data analysis, HR and project management.

All apprenticeship successes are marked at special graduation ceremonies where colleagues are donned in traditional university cap and gown attire.

As part of our National Apprenticeship Week celebrations, we are also helping trade apprentices by giving away two toolkits wort £1,000 through a competition running on our social media channels. This coincides with the launch of our brand new blog, The Toolkit, which features a 'New to the Trade' section dedicated to supporting newly-qualified tradespeople, those branching into a new speciality, or anyone that might need a quick refresher, with plenty of guides to help with their latest projects.