The Most Issue 2

| 23 and catch-ups; creating a safe space for our apprentices to talk about their concerns and needs. Our apprentices received the exact same equipment and programming as the rest of our team. We encouraged our apprentices to spend as much time as they needed in order to not fall behind with their assignments and ensured that if they felt the need that they could offload some of their workplace responsibilities temporarily so they did not feel overwhelmed. Once we returned back to our office we gained another new apprentice, Paige, and she’s been provided with everything that the rest of the team has – equality is a really key value to us and nothing will change that about us. Preston’s College have been absolutely brilliant in the way they support our apprentices. They are always checking in and providing support and updates which really did give both the company and our apprentice’s peace of mind. So much so that we decided to take on a new apprentice this year – which many companies have not felt stable enough to do. The tutors really do care about the apprentice’s wellbeing and progress, along with ours too! They’ve provided regular communications throughout and truly have gone above and beyond to support our existing apprentice and our new apprentice. Without this, I don’t believe that we would have felt as confident with taking on a new apprentice this year. What would you say to any other organisation thinking about hiring an apprentice? Many people, especially young people, find themselves losing out on opportunities due to a lack of experience. We look at an apprenticeship as a win-win situation, as a company we get a new member of the team to help manage work flow and the apprentice gets the experience they need along with their qualification. Alongside this, at the end of each apprenticeship, there is almost certainly a permanent role waiting for the apprentice so they can take the next step on their career ladder. Luckily for us, Covid-19 actually made us want to take on a new apprentice even more! What does the future look like for you now? Because of what we do, the pandemic has not had as catastrophic of an impact on us as it has to others, but it has still faced us with challenges. We feel that there is light at the end of the tunnel, we have continued to provide our services as a company to our clients and we believe we have weathered out the worst of the storm. We’d like to think that there will never be another pandemic like Covid-19 however if there ever is, we are prepared to do it all again and do our part in keeping the country going and keeping our incredible team as safe and happy as possible.