A group of apprentices with a leading social landlord are celebrating after securing full-time jobs at the end of their training.
County Durham Housing Group has offered full-time employment to no fewer than five of its apprentices after they completed their extensive on-the-job training.
The group, which offers apprenticeships in areas as diverse as plumbing and customer service each year, invests heavily in training and development of its local workforce.
All five demonstrated their abilities during an open recruitment process and have now begun their full-time roles in various parts of the business, which has bases in Bishop Auckland, Durham, Peterlee and Seaham. The apprentices will join the group’s 450 other members of staff to provide homes and support for no fewer than 22,000 tenants in communities from Rookhope to the Durham coast.
Meghan Taylor has just started in her new position as an Administration Assistant after undertaking a business administration apprenticeship. She said: “The best thing about doing an apprenticeship for me is that you can learn while earning money. There’s no need to go to college all week and then have to do a job as well. Apprenticeships make it all fit in together, with much less pressure.”
Another former apprentice celebrating is Deborah Woods. She has just begun her new career as a Community Investment Assistant. “Although I have qualifications, I didn’t have work experience due to bringing up a family. So getting an apprenticeship has been a ‘foot in the door’ to employment. It opens up career opportunities I never thought I would have.” Deborah said.
Louise Shillinglaw, Head of People and Organisational Development at County Durham Housing Group, said: “Apprenticeships form a key part of our business and are a tangible way for us to ensure we are supporting the communities we operate in.
“We’ve found some phenomenal talent through our programme and some of our previous apprentices have already progressed into management level roles in the group.
“I’m really pleased for our new recruits and I hope they go on to have long and successful careers in the housing sector.”
Since being formed in 2015, County Durham Housing Group has created a number of apprenticeships. The group is currently expanding with a £30m programme of new house building delivering nearly 300 homes across 17 sites throughout the region.