Balfour Beatty’s Director of Talent and Development, Jo Volk, was interviewed live on BBC Breakfast today, discussing the importance of developing life skills amongst Apprentices and the value businesses gain from supporting younger generations in this way.
Anthony Moffatt, a Balfour Beatty Apprentice Pipefitter working at Sellafield, also featured on BBC Breakfast, talking about the benefits of completing the Duke of Edinburgh award.
Anthony discusses how the opportunity to undertake the Duke of Edinburgh award, a scheme offered to apprentices working with Balfour Beatty, ultimately resulted in him feeling more confident at work and how it has helped him to progress in his career at Balfour Beatty.
Balfour Beatty offers a multitude of apprenticeships ranging from intermediate level to degree apprenticeships. The company aims to meet current and future skills demand by attracting and retaining the best available talent and is committed to removing the barriers across the industry to widen the talent pool. In 2018, Balfour Beatty recruited 102 apprentices, increasing the population of the workforce in ‘earn and learn’ positions to 5.6% above the 5% target, from 3.1% in 2014.
Jo Volk, Talent and Development Director, said: “We are pleased to be able to offer our apprentices the opportunity to work on some of the UK’s most prominent infrastructure projects.
“We believe that providing our people fulfilling and satisfying careers means offering experiences outside of their job role as well. Taking part in the Duke of Edinburgh awards, volunteering or working with our Affinity Networks helps our employees develop skills in new environments and then implement them into their career. We recognise the significance of these added skills and what they bring back to the business.”
Anthony Moffatt, Balfour Beatty Apprentice Pipefitter at Sellafield, said: “After my Duke of Edinburgh award, I felt so much more confident working in a team, having gained numerous skills such as how to lead and self-confidence. I now feel I know my strengths and where I can improve, and it has been great that Balfour Beatty has supported me to grow in this way as part of my Apprenticeship programme.”
Balfour Beatty is an early signatory of The 5% Club, a UK employer-led initiative focused on creating momentum behind the recruitment of apprentices and graduates into the workforce, with an aim of having 5% of the total workforce in ‘earn and learn’ position.
To watch the full interview, click here
ENDS
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Balfour Beatty
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Notes to editors:
- Balfour Beatty (balfourbeatty.com) is a leading international infrastructure group. With 26,000 employees, we provide innovative and efficient infrastructure that underpins our daily lives, supports communities and enables economic growth. We finance, develop, build and maintain complex infrastructure such as transportation, power and utility systems, social and commercial buildings.
- Our main geographies are the UK, US and Hong Kong. Over the last 100 years we have created iconic buildings and infrastructure all over the world including the London Olympics’ Aquatic Centre, Hong Kong’s first Zero Carbon building, the National Museum of the Marine Corps in the US and the Channel Tunnel Rail Link.
- Balfour Beatty is responding by upskilling its workforce, bringing people with new skills into the business and embracing new technology to deliver the infrastructure of the future.
- Balfour Beatty has continued to invest in its Emerging Talent aligned with its interest in supporting The 5% Club. In 2018, the UK recruited 94 graduates, 102 apprentices and 20 trainees. The proportion of the UK workforce in ‘earn and learn’ positions has increased from 3.1% in 2014, to 5.6% at the end of 2018. At 31 December 2018 the UK supports 322 apprentices, 237 graduates, 161 trainees and 19 year out industrial placement students on a range of schemes.
- Balfour Beatty is a member of ‘The 5% Club’, a UK employer-led initiative focused on creating momentum behind the recruitment of apprentices and graduates into the workforce. Chief Executive Leo Quinn was the founding member of the 5% Club. Balfour Beatty joined in December 2013, the first company in the infrastructure industry to join.
- The 5% Club works with UK employers and key influencers to inspire, educate and retain a growing body of people into “earn and learn” placements to increase the number of apprentices, sponsored students and graduates. The goal of the 5% Club is to increase the employment and career prospects of today’s youth and equip the UK with the skilled workforce it needs to safeguard Britain’s economy.
