The company recruits new apprentices most years and most of its workforce has an apprenticeship background.
Taking on four new engineering apprentices, following the largest recruitment drive in the company’s history, chief executive Andrew Churchill (pictured) spoke about why the firm continues to invest in apprenticeships year on year:
He said: “We couldn’t have been so successful for the past eight decades without the hundreds of apprentices who’ve come through our doors and gone on to be great engineers. Most are local – we’re part of the community in Leicestershire and we’re proud that we could invest in the region and give people a great career in engineering. We could bring people in with the skills already, but giving young people those opportunities instead is important to us.”
Semta helps engineering businesses to set up successful apprenticeship programmes and is encouraging other smaller organisations to follow JJ Churchill’s lead.
Ann Watson, chief executive of Semta, added: “JJ Churchill is a shining example of a company doing exactly the right thing. We’ve got a big skills gap in the UK – we need two million more engineers by 2025 – and apprenticeships are an extremely cost effective way for organisations of all sizes to future proof their business by growing their own talent.”
