Palletways apprentices

Palletways UK has celebrated the fifth birthday of its apprenticeship scheme.

Since it launched at the end of 2012, 17 apprentices have entered the scheme, with 11 recieving full time employment at its completion.

The scheme's apprentice retention rate stands at 79%, which Palletways UK MD Dave Walmsley celebrated as "well above the national average of 67%".

He added: "Palletways has well and truly got behind apprenticeships. People are the foundation of our success as a market leader, so investing in the next generation of highly motivated staff who will take our business forwards to even greater heights is essential.

“Everyone at Palletways is proud of our five-year support of apprentices and look forward to recruiting even more young people over the next five years.”

The network currently has three apprentices still in training.

Aaron Cooke joined the network as an apprentice in April 2013 and is now a full-time forklift driver in Fradley. He said: "I chose to be a forklift driver based on the skills I already had and career interests I wanted to develop.

"Before entering the scheme, I had no qualifications. But thanks to Palletways, I now have a Class 1 NVQ in Forklift Operations and I’m a qualified first aider."

Juliet Cox is Palletways' newest apprentice. She joined as a customer services assistant in July last year and said she has "really enjoyed" her time with the network to date.

She said: "Until now, I’d had no experience in an office, but wanted to challenge myself to learn new skills and be part of a team. What I like is always being busy, yet still having the opportunity to approach my manager and co-workers for help, guidance and support."

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