Photo: [Pictured R-L is Simon Bailey: Director ISTAR, Apprentices Sam Targett & Oliver Bodenham, George Hollingbery MP, Chris Hammond Space & Security].
Serco’s Design & Integration Team based at their offices in Waterlooville was delighted to welcome back George Hollingbery MP to present our two graduating Apprentices with their 2017 Certificates. George first met the two young men when he visited earlier this year.
He said: “It was great to come back to Serco to meet with Sam and Oliver again now they’ve completed their apprenticeships. It’s so important that young people now have a real choice as to how they pursue further education either through university or an apprenticeship. I’m delighted that Serco are so firmly committed to this latter route and that both the company and apprentices alike are benefitting. I look forward to visiting Serco again in the future to meet the next generation climbing the ladder.”
Simon Bailey, Serco’s Director of ISTAR, said:”We are really proud of these two young men and what they have already achieved. Serco is a great supporter of apprenticeships and we really value the contribution they have made to our business. We require a diverse range of roles, many of which require specialist skills or prior military knowledge and so this means we often recruit leavers from HM Armed Forces. However there are recognised skill shortages in some areas such as engineering and apprenticeships are helping us to fill these gaps and build a skills base for the future.”
Serco is working with industry partners and customers to develop skills and increase the number of young people being trained in areas where there are skill shortages. We are also working to provide experience for apprentices and share programmes, both across industry and with our customers. For example we are working with the MOD to find ways of providing more secondment and exchange opportunities.
To promote Apprenticeships across our business, Serco has set up a dedicated Apprenticeship Levy and Education team, whose role is to work closely with our business units to identify their training needs, and find or develop bespoke courses that are right for them. The team already delivers over 25 different Apprenticeships across a range of different sectors, from custodial care to aeronautical engineering - reflecting the enormous breadth of services that Serco provides.
Ends