North East building services firm John N Dunn Group has hit a major workforce landmark with the recruitment of its 500th apprentice.
The North Tyneside-headquartered firm currently has 30 apprentices on its books, each of whom undergoes a four-year training course that offers a mix of on-the-job training and classroom-based learning at college.
Each apprentice works with an experienced plumber or electrician who acts as a mentor for their development and who shows how the skills they’re learning in the classroom can be applied practically on the job.
The majority of those that complete their apprenticeships go on to take full-time roles with the firm, with several members of its current senior team originally joining in this way.
John N Dunn Group, which traces its roots back to 1893, has a 280-strong team operating between South Yorkshire and central Scotland, and works with many of the UK’s major housing developers and associations, as well as commercial contractors.
Alongside its traditional services, the business is increasingly diversifying into the low carbon and renewable energy technologies sector, and recently completed a major workforce investment programme which has seen 40 members of its team gaining new industry accreditations which allow them to safely undertake work on the installation of air source heat pumps.
Chairman Stephen Bilclough says: “Training and development is the lifeblood of a longstanding business like ours, especially as new technologies and techniques are introduced to the building services industry, and we’ve consistently invested in making sure we can equip our junior staff with the skills they need to succeed.
“Many members of our senior team started life with us as apprentices, and wherever possible, we like to promote from within and provide employees with opportunities to progress their careers with us.
“We have many examples of this across the wider business with our current managing director in Yorkshire, James Harris, starting life off as an apprentice with us and now leading a successful division that works right across the county.
“Our latest recruits have every opportunity to follow in James’ footsteps, and will be supervised and supported all the way by an experienced team as they develop their skills on a range of live projects.
“We look forward to training the next generation of plumbers and electricians and to continuing to play our part in bridging the skills gap within our industry.”