National Apprenticeship Week 2022
The National Apprenticeship Week 2022 theme of ‘Build the Future’ - a continuation from 2021 - focuses on the benefits apprenticeships can have for individuals, businesses, and local communities. Employing apprentices at JPIMedia provides a huge opportunity for us to help future talent to shape their careers in a way that allows them to learn whilst working, and helps us to ensure we are able to attract the best candidates we can to our business who may better reflect the diversity of the communities we serve.
The 15th annual week-long celebration, taking place across England from 7th to 13th February, encourages individuals of any age to reach their career goals by building their skills and knowledge, whilst in paid employment, through an apprenticeship.
One myth to dispel is that an apprentice is always of school leaver age. An adult apprenticeship can be taken up by anyone prepared to undertake the relevant training and offers a great opportunity for individuals who may be seeking their first job, returning to the workplace after a period of absence, or who may simply be looking for a new career or challenge.
Neil Pickford, Head of Editorial Apprenticeships, tells us-
“I have been involved in JPIMedia's editorial apprenticeship scheme since its conception in 2018 when we recruited four apprentices into my team. It was, and remains, a great thrill to be able to give enthusiastic and talented new recruits the opportunity to follow their dreams of working in the media. Since then my role has evolved and I now oversee the recruitment, training and development of our apprentices alongside their local mentors across the business.
It is a joy to see their progression, talk through their successes and see the very real difference they are making to our print and digital products. We currently have 13 editorial apprentices in the business from a range of diverse backgrounds, and there is no doubt in my mind that we are the industry leader when it comes to apprentices and apprenticeships.
No other regional news publisher has embraced the apprenticeship schemes and the opportunities it offers as JPIMedia has done. We are, and remain, committed to giving young people the chance to forge a career and bring new skills, attitudes and abilities to the business.”
