National Apprenticeships Week (NAW) 2022

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National Apprenticeships Week (NAW) 2022
‘Build the Future’
Mon 7th Feb 2021 – Sun 13th Feb 2022

Campaign focus

The campaign focuses on two key areas: 

How apprenticeships can help to ‘Build the Future’: The theme for this year, as set out by the Government, is ‘Build the Future’. Seetec Outsource works with apprentices from a wide range of industries. Taking place between the 7th and 13th of February, NAW encourages everyone to consider the positive impact that apprenticeships can have on businesses, individuals, communities and the wider economy.

How apprenticeships are supporting the aviation industry’s post-COVID recovery: One of the hardest hit industries during the Covid-19 pandemic has been aviation. With the help of Seetec Outsource, apprentices are playing an important role in helping the industry to take-off again. Seetec Outsource will be focusing on the aviation industry this year to celebrate National Apprenticeship Week 2022.

Aviation Spotlight

The UK inbound tourism industry, which is worth £28.4 billion, has experienced tough restrictions, with ever changing requirements for testing to fly along with a traffic light system which has only recently been removed.

Domestic travel was down by 75% in 2020, in comparison to 2019. As a result of an uncertain two years for the industry, furlough or redundancy has been common amongst companies in aviation. Therefore, Seetec Outsource is looking to aviation apprentices to ‘Build the Future’ of the aviation industry, offering a wide range of apprenticeships from ground operations and cabin crew to aircraft maintenance and engineering.

Seetec Outsource has sector experts as well as current aviation apprentices and employers available for interview

  • Nikki Bardsley, Seetec Outsource Director of Apprenticeship & Skills Operations
  • Lloyd DeVal, Seetec Outsource Director of Sector Skills
  • Alex Durand, CEO, SaxonAir
  • Louise Campbell, HR Director, 2Excel.

Spokespeople 

Apprentices: 

Elissa Hennessy-Boyle, 2Excel, Doncaster – Level 3 Aviation Ground Specialist

After finishing her A Levels in June, Elissa changed her mind about university and started to look at an apprenticeship with Seetec Outsource instead.

Elissa’s role involves calculating flight plans, validating them with Air Traffic Control, calculating fuel requirements, and the passenger detail. Many of the charter flights she arranges involve VIPs and football teams.

She said: “I really like the job because no two days are the same. I’m so glad I didn’t go to university. Being in work and being able to earn money suits me. Ultimately my ambition is to become an air traffic controller. I’m hoping I’ll be able to use what I’ve learned here to move onto that in the future.”

Jordan Morris, 2Excel, Doncaster – Level 3 Aviation Ground Specialist 

Jordan Morris works as an apprentice operations controller for 2Excel at Doncaster Airport. With a lifelong interest in aircraft, he has secured the perfect job.

“My apprenticeship is really good. When I started, I’d been out of education for eight years, and I wasn’t sure how I would take to it. But our assignments relate to real-life situations.

“We run charter flights, operating King Air planes with up to seven passengers, through to Boeing 737s. We arrange flights for Premier League football teams, rugby teams and bands. We even did a flight for the England Under-21 football team. I’m really into football, so that was exciting.”

Miles Weekes, Gama Aviation, Bournemouth – Level 4 Aeronautical Engineering Apprentice

For Miles Weekes, 23, living under the Heathrow Airport flight path in Maidenhead – and close to a grass airfield – meant he grew up watching planes ranging from large passenger jets to small piston engine aircraft.

Miles’ advice to those at school or college considering their next steps is to look at what apprenticeships are available. “You will come out with equivalent qualifications to those gained at university.”

Miles is clear about his future aspirations: “My goal is to travel with my qualifications and explore the world, working in Europe, America and maybe Australia.”

Aviation experts: 

Alex Durand, CEO, SaxonAir

SaxonAir is one of many charter flight operators which were hit hard by the Covid-19 pandemic. But the Norwich-based business, launched in 2007, has seized the opportunity to focus on the workforce skills needed to succeed and grow.

Alex Durand, SaxonAir’s CEO, explained: “During the pandemic, we lost 95% of our income. We are now trying to get apprenticeships as fit for purpose as they can be for our sector. We want them to be shaped and moulded to the work we do.”

Alex believes the Government is starting to recognise the contribution the aviation industry makes to the economy and global connectivity. Louise Campbell, HR Director, 2Excel 

Group HR Director Louise Campbell explained that as the business now plans for growth, apprenticeships are at the core of its talent strategy.

“On the engineering side, we have an ageing workforce, with many of our skilled engineers heading towards retirement.

“We risk losing that knowledge and experience, and as an industry there is a real struggle to recruit and fill aircraft engineering vacancies. What could be better than hiring apprentices, so those due to retire can share their expertise?”

Seetec Spokespeople: 

Nikki Bardsey – Director of Apprenticeship & Skills Operations

Nikki has over 21 years’ experience in the apprenticeship and skills arena. For the past eighteen years Nikki has worked for high-profile grade 2 training providers, specialising in the development and delivery of high-quality apprenticeship programmes.

“Apprenticeships provide skills for life and give businesses the opportunity to build resilience for growth.”

Lloyd DeVal, Director of Sector Skills

Lloyd is passionate about apprenticeship provision that is core to employers’ businesses, creating systems that address skills shortages that are wholly aligned to the environment in which they are to be deployed.

“As an employee-owned business, we are passionate about driving social mobility and improving the life chances for all. We are committed to providing a route for people of all abilities and backgrounds to progress in the workplace and apprenticeships are a great option.”

Apprenticeships Delivered

Seetec Outsource delivers a range of aviation and advanced engineering apprenticeships. These include:

Level 2 

Aviation Ground Operative

Level 3 

Aircraft Maintenance Fitter/Technician

Cabin Crew

Aviation Ground Specialist

Level 4

Aircraft Certifying Technician

Aviation Operations Manager

Further information about apprenticeships in aviation can be found here: https://www.seetecoutsource.co.uk/programme-sector/aviation-engineering/

Seetec Outsource

Part of the employee-owned Seetec Group, Seetec Outsource is an award-winning training provider with over 35 years’ experience helping businesses and individuals to achieve their potential.

Seetec’s high-quality apprenticeships and professional development programmes enable individuals of all ages to build a rewarding career – from new recruits to sector specialists and experienced leaders. We also support individuals who are just beginning their journey into employment, through adult education and traineeship opportunities designed to give them the tools they need to achieve their goals.

Seetec works across the private, public and charitable sectors to deliver training and apprenticeships for occupations within:

  • Aviation, transport and logistics
  • Professional and business services
  • Public services
  • Media, communications and digital
  • Engineering and manufacturing

Seetec works with a range of companies, these include:

  • Sky
  • Virgin Media
  • ITV
  • Whirlpool
  • DHL
  • Hermes

Statistics 

  • 73.7 million international and domestic passengers travelled by air in 2020, down 75% from 2019, according to the Department of Transport.
  • Around 406,060 international flights operated from the UK this year, compared with 1,399,170 in 2019 before travel was restricted and UK domestic flights fell by nearly 60%, said aviation analytics firm Cirium.
  • The UK inbound tourism industry is worth 28.4billion.
  • Pre-covid aviation and tourism supports 87.7 million jobs worldwide and is worth £26 trillion in global economic activity. It is estimated there were more than 11 million jobs within the aviation sector itself, employed at airlines, airports, civil aerospace manufacturers and air traffic management, according to ATAG (Air Transport Action Group).
  • Direct aviation jobs (at airlines, airports, manufacturers, and air traffic management) fell by 2.3 million worldwide (a 21% reduction compared with pre-Covid situation).
  • The hardest impact is on the indirect and catalytic jobs supported by air transport: 50% fewer jobs overall will be supported by air transport at the end of this year when compared to before COVID.

Help for Afghan refugees making their new life in Liverpool

Having left behind the homes, jobs and education they worked so hard for, hundreds of refugees in Liverpool are now looking to rebuild their lives here in the UK with the help of skills and training experts Seetec Outsource.

Specialist education and skills provision, run by Seetec Outsource, is helping those with limited English-speaking skills to fast track their language and knowledge development to give them the confidence to secure employment.

Around 60 refugees have already taken part and are benefiting not only from the learning but the friendship and support that the programmes offer. From January, 16- 24-year old traineeship learners will also have the opportunity to complete a work placement, moving them closer to entering employment or continuing their education in the city.

Two Afghan refugees who are currently part of the programme are Waheed, 22 and Muzhgan, 21.

Waheed was a civil engineering student in Kabul before his family was forced to flee Afghanistan. He had high hopes for his future in the UK but spoke very little English when he first arrived in the country. With Seetec’s support, he will still be able to pursue his career goals.

He said: “I really want to become a civil engineer in the UK but need to improve my English before I can continue my studies here.

“Although I learned some English in school, I didn’t have the ability or confidence to have a proper conversation. After just 3 weeks on the ESOL* course I’ve improved so much.”

Muzhgan is one of just a handful of female learners attending the city centre traineeship programme. She was a fourth-year medical student in Kabul before her family was evacuated, with dreams of becoming a plastic surgeon.

Having lost both her parents, and more recently a brother who was killed in a bomb attack on his office, Muzhgan finally feels safe in Liverpool and has embraced the city as her new home.

Despite the challenges she has faced, Muzhgan is more determined than ever to turn her ambitions into a reality and the support offered by Seetec will take her a step closer to achieving her goals.

Muzhgan said: “The course has been so much fun, and we’ve taken part in lots of activities. It has helped me to feel more settled in the UK.

“We’re also getting practical support with job and university applications, which is really helpful. It’s important for me to go back to university and continue my studies so that I can follow my dream of becoming a plastic surgeon one day.”

Political leaders in the North of England welcomed Afghan refugees with open arms back in August of this year, with regions in the North of England historically taking in a higher percentage of refugees than the South.

Analysis from The Guardian* in August showed that Northern England – including the North-West, North-East and Yorkshire and Humber – had taken in nearly half (42%) of all the 44,825 asylum seekers in the UK. Only 6.5% have been placed in the south of England excluding London.

The Mayors in the North of England previously stated that the whole country needed to support those in need, as ministers draw up plans to take in 20,000 men, women and children from Afghanistan over the next five years.

Andi Macgregor, Operations Director for Education and Skills said: “At Seetec Outsource our aim has always been – and always will be – to change lives for the better.

“We can support Afghan refugees by giving them the skills and capabilities they need to successfully integrate into life in the UK and become active and valued members of their new communities.

“It’s rewarding to see the impact that our provision is already having on refugees in Liverpool, and we will continue to work with partners in the region to identify any additional support needs and ensure they have access to the right services at this critical time.”

Resilience of employee-owners supports service users through pandemic

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Seetec’s employee-owners’ collective resilience provides stability and structured support to service users through the pandemic

To mark Employee Ownership Day (25th of June), the Seetec Group is celebrating rising five places to 11th in the list of the UK’s top employee-owned businesses but, more importantly, it is using the day to reflect on the unprecedented challenges faced during the past 15 months and how, by working #BetterTogether, everyone continues to play their part as the country moves cautiously towards the end of the latest lockdown.

Employee-ownership is a positive, resilient and sustainable way of transforming lives and communities, enabling Seetec to deliver evidenced-based interventions and better outcomes for society through its business divisions.

Faced with the unprecedented challenges posed by COVID-19, a big priority has also been the health and wellbeing of Seetec’s employee-owners. The added pressure of balancing homeworking with home-schooling and supporting vulnerable family members during the lockdowns has had an impact.

Seetec’s aim has been to provide the right level of flexibility to its people so that they have the ability to take better care of vulnerable service users. This was achieved through a collaborative approach delivered by the leadership team working closely with employee ownership champions across the business to provide a range of practical, physical and emotional support initiatives.

A survey of 1,000 employee-owners revealed a 12% improvement in employee health and wellbeing scores following the introduction of initiatives, including:

  • Laptops for families – a loan scheme to support families with home schooling, to keep them connected and reduce digital exclusion.
  • Covid grants – for Seetec employees facing financial crisis.
  • The Listening Ear – monthly non-work-related check-ins with trained mental health first aiders.
  • In Safe Hands – a safe online space with discreet access to information in a hurry, primarily around domestic abuse, mental health, financial worries and drug/alcohol support.
  • Weekly mindfulness – sessions designed and led by employee champions.
  • Physical activity support – including weekly online yoga and Zumba sessions, an online Seetec Movers Strava community to link employees and encourage winter activity, and a ‘Step into Spring’ fundraising challenge to encourage more physical activity five days a week.
  • Home school support group – pooling knowledge and subject matter expertise across the organisation to help families with remote learning.

Seetec Associate Director, Employee Ownership, Ann-Marie Conway said: “We have a comprehensive health and wellbeing policy, but the pandemic brought unique challenges for our people.

“We are a people-to-people business and being isolated from colleagues who provided daily support to each other was difficult enough, compounded by dealing with our own family issues. It was clear we could only support our clients and communities when our people were well supported.

“Our network of Employee Ownership champions really came into its own, ensuring the employee voice was heard by the senior leadership team. This approach continues to empower our people to create agile and responsive solutions for the benefit of the business, further embedding the values of an employee ownership culture to boost the support we provide to our service users.”

Feedback from employee-owners has been overwhelmingly positive with comments, including:

  • “Our EO structure has been a fantastic vehicle to support people through this difficult time.”
  • “I have seen the true meaning of employee voice to help steer the business strategy.”
  • “Feedback from employee-owners has reached senior leaders and I have seen actions being taken as a result.”

Seetec supports thousands of individuals every year to shape their own future through its skills, employment, justice, health and social care services.

Employee ownership has represented an exciting opportunity for individuals to help shape the future direction of the business. Seetec’s collaborative structure and ability to be responsive to the challenges presented by the pandemic has enabled it to maintain high standards of service to the communities it serves.

Employee Trustee Director, Karen Palfreyman explained: “Against the backdrop of the pandemic, it is remarkable that we have managed to not only continue to grow and develop the business, serving communities impacted through the biggest economic and social upheaval in several generations, but also establish the right foundations for our own employee ownership culture to succeed.”

Chief Executive of the EOA, Deb Oxley OBE said: “At the EOA we believe in better business together – our EO networks support individuals, businesses and the economy to unlock their potential, something we are delighted to be celebrating this EO Day.

“It is great to see the impact of being employee owned is having on employee owners at Seetec, who we have been delighted to see developing strong and robust governance supported by good engagement and communications that is driving benefits for all.”

Seetec is delighted to be shortlisted for Best Health and Wellbeing Initiative category, recognising the company’s commitment to colleague’s health and wellbeing at this year’s prestigious CIPD People Management Awards.

For more information about this year’s Employee Ownership Day, with its #BetterTogether theme, follow this link: https://employeeownership.co.uk/events/eo-day-2021/

To hear from Seetec’s employee-owners about what employee ownership means to them, follow @SeetecInspire.