The North East’s biggest building society is increasing its ongoing investment in nurturing regional talent with the launch of its first ever apprenticeship programme.
Newcastle Building Society has taken on five apprentices aged between 17 and 24 who will undertake a 12 to 18 month training and development programme resulting in a nationally recognised qualification.
And as part of recognising the value and contribution of its apprentices to the business, the Society has chosen to pay them more than double the minimum pay level set by the government.
Two of its new apprentices are former Whitley Bay High School pupils, with Holly Dawson taking up a digital marketing apprenticeship and Hannah Marks joining the Society’s IT Services team.
Megan Scott, who attended Thorp Academy in Ryton, has taken up a new accounting apprenticeship, while two new recruits from Consett – Callum Parkinson and Gavin Malone – are embarking on branch/mortgage and software development apprenticeships respectively.
Each of the new apprentices will be supported through tailored development activities provided by the Society’s learning and development team, specialist training providers and colleagues from across the wider business, which will support their individual roles and personal aspirations.
Newcastle Building Society is one of just a handful of North East organisations to have achieved the prestigious ‘Gold’ Investors in People (IIP) standard, which it won earlier this year, and as well as its apprenticeship scheme, it also runs separate bespoke programmes for both undergraduates and graduate recruits.
Andrew Haigh, chief executive at Newcastle Building Society, says: “Without the skills and knowledge of the people who work with us, we wouldn’t be the organisation we are today. We’re committed to continuing to grow our Society by making strategic investments in the skills and talent that is here in the North East.
“Launching our first apprenticeship programme is the latest stage of an ongoing journey, and we’re already working towards offering more apprenticeship opportunities in the future which will sit alongside the other provisions we already make to help local people develop rewarding careers.
“We wanted to ensure our new apprenticeship programme offered excellent development opportunities and also recognised the contribution our apprentice recruits will make. An enhanced rate of pay has helped us to attract some extremely capable and enthusiastic new recruits.
“Our apprentices are already contributing to ‘live’ projects within their respective areas, and we’re looking forward to seeing how they develop both as colleagues and as people over the next couple of years.”