Local employer is passionate about nurturing workplace skills development
Novacroft has welcomed its first apprentice, Charlie Richardson, following the launch of an apprenticeship programme in partnership with Northampton College.
Charlie, 18, who joined Novacroft’s team at the start of October, has completed a year at Northampton College and will now be with the company full-time for twelve months, working as part of Novacroft’s team to achieve a NVQ in Contact Centre Operations.
Novacroft committed earlier this year to providing seven contact-centre based apprenticeships, shared between existing and newly recruited team members, who will all develop their work-based competencies, technical and functional skillsets as part of their work-based training and professional development.
For Novacroft, who is one of 250,000+ UK workplaces embracing the value of apprentices, seizing the benefits apprenticeships offer supports the company’s ongoing growth vision and investment in team talent.
For Charlie, the attractions of an apprenticeship were threefold:
I didn’t want to spend money on university fees, wasn’t keen on doing more academic study, and wasn’t sure which career path I wanted to take. But I’ve always liked customer service. Being an apprentice in a contact centre environment, I can see what I like best, and earn as I learn. It’s much more hands on. I’m really enjoying it!
The government has pledged to deliver 3 million apprenticeships by 2020 and, as a significant local employer, Novacroft is keen to play its part. Jo Phelps, Novacroft’s Head of HR, says:
There’s no ‘one-size fits all’ when it comes to finding the way into your career – getting hands on experience can really make a difference, there’s no substitute for it. Gaining skills in the real world is often much more attractive than academic study. We’re delighted to have Charlie with us and look forward to supporting him on his journey growing with Novacroft.