DoorCo has recently been awarded the prestigious We invest in apprentices Silver accreditation. DoorCo’s Systems Lead, Matthew Elliott explains how important this move is for the future of the business and the industry as a whole.

A sustainable commitment to attracting, retaining and developing the best talent lies at the heart of every healthy business and economy.

The squeeze on labour is widely reported across all involved in construction, caused by a combination of COVID fall out, an ageing workforce and the impacts of Brexit on migrant labour. Training is often seen as a loss leader in terms of cost, but the reality is there is a huge amount of skill within a business that could be lost if it is not passed onto the next generation.

When it comes to manufacturing, the adopted technologies such as automation, robotics and big data analytics to improve productivity, efficiency, and capabilities in the production environment, poses even further challenge to the skills we require. Workers not only need to be adept at traditional manufacturing, but also need to understand advanced data-rich computer-automated technologies too.

In a fast-growing business like DoorCo, accessing these skills is an even bigger challenge and we have recognised that the recruitment and development of talent is fundamental to our future success. We have made significant investment into our team, getting the right people in the right jobs and nurturing in-house skills and expertise to create a strong talent pool, that in turn supports the development of the next generation through our newly accredited ‘We invest in apprentices’ scheme.

We invest in apprentices

Investors in People is widely recognised as the benchmark for good practice in training and development. To achieve the accreditation, we underwent a vigorous assessment which explored the business, our people and the existing apprenticeship programmes. The assessment reviews not just the practical application of training but also the commitment from the business to make the scheme a success.

Our passion for offering great apprenticeship opportunities was highlighted in the assessment, particularly the learning opportunities offered to enable our existing apprentices to grow and develop both personally and professionally, and the career opportunities that are available for them to work towards. The focus on wellbeing was also something that was remarked upon, and something that is very much central to our ethos as an employer overall.

To be awarded Silver on our first assessment is an incredible feat and credits the hard work to all the managers, mentors, and apprentices at DoorCo. The accreditation not only marks DoorCo as a good employer but it provides a practical framework for the next three years to help us enhance our apprentice experience and monitor how well we’re supporting them at work, including development, communication and support. We are very much committed to the framework to provide our current and future apprentices a structure to learn values and skills at the very start of their careers.

We invest in people

Our aim is to expand the number of apprentices we currently employ and in tandem, roll out the new framework to up-skill all our employees that would like to grow in their careers. Apprenticeships are open to multiple levels and ages; they are not just for school leavers. Improving all our training gives everyone the opportunity to develop.

As an employer, DoorCo is invested in its people, always keen to shine the spotlight and celebrate successes with award nominations or via internal recognition schemes. As a team we feel understood, respected and that our opinions and ideas count. We understand where we can develop, that we have clear career paths, and we are supported along the way. This is why people succeed within DoorCo.

Going for gold

I have been lucky enough to use my own experiences of building a career in the business to work very closely with our apprentices. Mentoring them to self-develop and watching them grow is incredibly rewarding, both professionally and personally, and having the opportunity to work with the expert IIP practitioners to enhance this experience further is exciting. Together we’ve developed an action plan to evolve our people strategy even further and we are already working towards achieving the Gold accreditation.

DoorCo is recognised as a good employer, raising our profile to help us stand out from other apprentice employers and ultimately, attract better talent. After all, good apprentices want to work for good employers, and this is key to the future of our business and the industry at large.