One of the longest serving independent chartered surveyors and estates agents in Staffordshire has successfully set up its own young apprentice programme to boost its growing recruitment needs.
A total of six undergraduates joined the programme set up by Louis Taylor in a link up with Salford University.
The commercial and residential property experts – headquartered in Newcastle-under-Lyme and with an office in Stafford – made the move as it was struggling to recruit in more traditional ways – losing out to cities like Manchester and Birmingham.
And the scheme is already paying dividends with three of the new recruits having just graduated with First Class Honours – and Louis Taylor being shortlisted as runner-up at the University’s awards in February as SME Apprentice Employer of the Year.
Ben Beswick and Ben Hulse qualified with top degrees in Real Estate Surveying and Annabel Brugger-Goring with a first in Chartered Business Management.
They combined one day a week learning at university with the rest in the work-based environment.
Louis Taylor Director Ian Cotterill said: “We are a well-established firm but like a lot of professional service providers in the area we couldn’t recruit to grow the firm like we wished to.
“What we are seeing is that places like Birmingham and Manchester have a massive draw in the property industry. So, to keep young professionals in the area we decided to create our own future workforce – and the best way was to go down the apprenticeship route.
“We partnered with Salford University and have six apprentices on the programme at the moment.
“In total we have 25 employees and that includes consultants and part time workers so taking on board six effective apprentices is a big commitment by our Managing Director Graham Hulse on behalf of the firm.
“But it is all about succession planning – growing our own is definitely the best way forward and also retains new talent in the area.”
Ben Beswick, 25, from Endon, said: “Louis Taylor gave me the opportunity of a 12-month industry placement as part of my degree and then I returned full-time after graduating and the firm are now supporting me to complete the Assessment of Professional Competence (APC) to become a qualified Chartered Surveyor & Registered Valuer.
“All six of us are Staffordshire based and it is great to be based at a local firm. I think it is one of the best things I did to go down this route.”
Ben Hulse, 23, of Alsager, said: “I looked at a couple of apprenticeships in areas such as engineering – but it was not what I wanted to do. When I was given the opportunity to do the apprenticeship with Louis Taylor it really worked for me.
“I always wanted to do an apprenticeship rather than directly study at university because the idea of working and gaining experience was a lot more important.
“Also, the element of debt was quite scary and this gave me the opportunity to earn and learn.”
Annabel Brugger-Goring, 23, also of Alsager, said: “After finishing sixth form I was not sure what route to take. I looked at universities but it was preferable to be in the world of work; having the opportunity to combine both was ideal.
“I’ve learned so much since coming to Louis Taylor and I really enjoy working in property – no two days are the same.”
