Conservatory Outlet has offered employment to six of its apprentices, following investment of more than £130,000 over the last 12 months into vocational learning opportunities and ongoing professional development.

The company, which employs more than 120 staff at its Thomas Wharf Lane factory, has been supporting apprenticeships for the last 15 years.

Kyle Green has been offered a full-time role in IT support and Natalie Bossons, who joined in 2019, now works as an order processor. She is also undertaking her team leader Level 3 qualification.

Eliza Auty, Kennedy Goodwin, and Georgie Tolley have all taken order processing positions, whilst Missy Mortimer has just completed her apprenticeship in December and will continue to help drive the firm’s strategic marketing strategy in 2023.

Karen Starkey, head of HR at Conservatory Outlet, commented: “We are one of Wakefield’s largest employers and believe it is critical to continue to offer new opportunities to local people.

“As we continue to grow, we have to look at ways of developing our staff and we have found apprenticeships are the best way of doing this, with the latest tranche of young people qualifying and taking on full-time roles.”

She continued: “The sizeable investment allows us to develop the individual in the ‘CO’ culture and we have a long and proven track record of offering progression routes that lead into senior positions.

“Our approach will continue in 2023. Two new apprentices have just started with us, with Ben Bradbury and Sam Allan studying towards their business admin Level 3 and AAT course respectively.”

Apprenticeships are one element of a strategic training programme operated by Conservatory Outlet.

In addition to vocational learning, the Wakefield-based firm also offers ongoing pathways for staff keen to progress and develop new skills.

This ranges from putting Joshua Child through his AAT and Karla Watson working towards her CIPD Level 3 (both at Wakefield College) to Ben Strutt (business and professional administration Level 4), Jo Davies (maintenance and operations engineering technical level 3) and Nikki Lewis undertaking her marketing manager Level 6 apprenticeship.

Karen went on to add: “As a business, we are always trying to push the boundaries of what we can achieve, and we can only manage this by investing in our people and futureproofing their skills.

“This was reflected in 2022 when we invested a further £100,000 into creating a new sales training academy, a move that was in response to a shortage of new talent coming into the industry.”

She concluded: “We have extended this offer to all our retailers, and this is steadily developing new individuals that will hit the ground running when they join our sector.”