It’s National Apprentice Week so we thought we’d share our experiences of the scheme, as well as some of the feedback from of our own apprentices.
In 2008 we were a team of 2 experienced logistics operators looking to expand the business and recruit new employees, we decided we had the knowledge and skills to work with and develop individuals, an employee with the right attitude was more important to us than having the necessary experience.
We found our first apprentice Katie Town in 2008 and she is now our Air Freight Manager 11 years later. Being part of the apprentice scheme has been very successful for us, we have established a path of training and development for apprentice career progression within the company.
We currently have 7 full time employees in various departments who have completed their apprenticeships, and currently 1 apprentice, Chloe, working in our sea freight team. We find the scheme extremely beneficial, our apprentices work through a variety of roles, learning the warehouse system, freight forwarding, sales and operations, whilst studying and passing NVQ ‘s. This hands on systems means we can identify their strengths and weaknesses to ensure they are supported and developed, ultimately working in the area of the business that is best suited to their individual skills, and it works well for both of us.
We benefit from gaining a fully engaged and versatile employee, with a deep and rounded knowledge of our industry and our business, and the ability to link all the departments and deliver a comprehensive end to end customer service.
We also learn from their insights into the running of the company and as a result develop job descriptions, roles and responsibilities accordingly, and we like working with individuals who are keen to learn and develop whilst working alongside experienced team members – we find we all continue to learn, and apprentices often introduce new skills, and a fresh view of the business which benefits the whole team.
Our two newest apprentices wanted to share their thoughts on the scheme and working as part of the TPS Global Logistics team.
Chloe – Sea Freight Apprentice
The best thing for me about being an apprentice is having the opportunity to work to gain new skills and experiences while earning money. Learning new information is important to me as it keeps me engaged so being able to work at the same time is great.
When I left sixth form I was very unsure about which career path I wanted to take. I had never previously heard of freight and didn’t know what a freight forwarder was before I joined but I wanted to do something new and was interested when I did some research on this. Once I had been to the interview at TPG Global Logistics, I immediately felt welcomed, I had a positive vibe and experience from the company in my interview which made me want the apprenticeship even more.
Since I got the apprenticeship I have really enjoyed it and have always received a lot of support. It has been very beneficial to me in learning new skills, knowledge and in building my confidence.
My favourite part of the job is probably being able to work in a nice environment everyday and being able to be part of the team to get jobs done.
Tom – Warehouse Operative
I chose an apprenticeship rather than staying at school because it suited my active personality, I like to be hands on and doing things rather than sat passively listening, so the opportunity to learn whilst doing the actual job suited my learning style.
The opportunity at TPS appealed because I instantly felt at ease within this family run business, the team are friendly and supportive and I knew it would be the right environment for me to develop my personal skills as well as my professional skills.
The best bit of my job really is everything! No matter what I’m doing, the people around me make it easy, this team is more like family and means you get thing done.