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Outstanding learning opportunities through apprenticeship programme

15th May 2019 Posted by

Posted by Dr Tracey Leghorn, Human Resources Director | SUEZ recycling and recovery UK.

The apprenticeship programme at SUEZ

Dr-Tracey-LeghornAs a worldwide player in water and waste, we have numerous apprenticeships and work experience opportunities for school leavers and students. We offer vocational apprenticeship courses for a variety of roles across the business and the UK including business administration, human resources, technical roles, HGV drivers and fitters, and many more. In each case, there is an apprentice training framework to support young people throughout.

Currently, we have 43 apprentices in the UK with each person playing an integral and important role in our organisation. Our vocational apprenticeships are open to existing employees as well as to new talent externally. We advertise our apprenticeships on our careers site, the government’s national apprenticeship job board, and on local college and school websites.

More than just learning on the job

At SUEZ our apprentices learn much more than just how to do a job, while achieving their qualifications. We believe that an apprenticeship is all encompassing experience and a career choice.

Typically, a new employee would often focus mainly on how to carry out their job role in the organisation, whereas as an apprentice our people also learn how to explore new ways of working, how to network within the organisation and learn how to progress through their career. As part of our apprenticeship programme we offer an internal support network for each apprentice, where we are teaming every apprentice with a HR manager, a dedicated mentor as well as offering their line manager’s expert support.
Providing outstanding learning opportunities for our people is something we are passionate about here at SUEZ, and we see apprenticeships as a key element of our learning vision.

SUEZ-recycling-and-recovery-UK-Apprenticeship-programme-enhanced-learnersOur apprenticeships cover many disciplines, but irrespective of the specialist area, all apprentices in our organisation benefit from learning beyond the boundaries of their role and course. Our aim is to provide them with access to gain a holistic understanding of the business and how it operates. Involving apprentices in live business projects is one of the ways in which we help them develop their commercial awareness and career paths.

Finding time to study can be an obstacle for apprentices and that is why, by offering flexible working hours, our apprentices are able to progress at a pace that works for both their personal circumstances and for SUEZ.

Our apprentices have benefited from the training provided by SUEZ and this has helped them enhance and broaden their knowledge of the corporate working environment, providing them with the skills, tools and techniques they will need for further career opportunities. Training provided as part of the programme aims to help to boost their self-esteem, confidence, communication and collaboration skills, whilst strengthening connections and building contacts.

Our programme has been enhanced to ensure that it meets the needs of our learners. We offer a wide range of training practices, which include face-to-face, online learning, shadowing and observations. SUEZ actively encourages our apprentices to continue their development and offer varied training opportunities to suit individual needs. All apprentices are given the opportunity to shadow senior managers or directors giving them early insight into strategy as well as operational delivery.

You’re hired!

We offer permanent opportunities to all of our learners upon completion of their apprenticeships as we recognise the importance that this developing talent pool brings to our organisation.

SUEZ-recycling-and-recovery-UK-Apprenticeship-programme

What’s next?

In December 2019, SUEZ will be holding its first ‘Annual Apprentice Seminar’, where all our learners can build national networks and celebrate their successes. They will be joined by our board of directors and management committee at this event, which I believe is a testament to the important role our learners play in our organisation now and in the future.

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