Case Study: Electrical Engineering
Darlington Borough Council has made 6 valuable additions to its workforce by recruiting full-time electrical engineer apprentices who were recommended by Darlington College.
After working with Darlington College and the Business First team for a number of years, Gordon Papple, Contracts Manager for Community Services, was already aware of the responsibilities of hiring an apprentice, but with only very little paperwork to complete and full support from the college it was by far his preferred method of recruitment.
Gordon says, ‘The process is simple, we approached Darlington College with an interest in recruiting apprentices to fill the vacancies that we had for electricians. They were able to recommend a list of possible applicants who were interested in the trade and a work-based learning career route, so we could arrange the interviews. Once we had chosen the candidates the college helped us devise an induction programme and arranged assessment visits’.
‘An apprentice is ideal for our team as it allows us to train an employee who is keen to learn the specialised skills needed to become an electrician and work hard to get qualified’.
Overall Gordon is pleased with the service that he received and from experience believes that, ‘An apprenticeship is a good start for school-leavers beginning their career as it gives them job security and long-term prospects in the industry’.
