Employers who work with us

Fiona Goulding, YAS Academy Educator

“I have found the College to be really supportive working with our staff, many of whom are mature and a little cautious about embarking on this qualification.

“The tutors are encouraging and supportive in guiding staff through the course work and Functional Skills. Many of our staff work unsociable hours and the College has worked with us to ensure they get the same support as our day staff.”

Adam Bradley, Director

“If you are in need of an apprentice, then look no further than Barnsley College. They answered all our questions quickly and took care of the entire process so that we could focus on running our business. The College lined up some excellent candidates for us and we could have quite easily employed two or three.

“I look forward to working with the College again when we next need an apprentice and I recommend their service to every single business in South Yorkshire. With Barnsley College you are in safe hands and employing an apprentice has never been so easy and rewarding with their help and assistance.”

Florin Florea, Apprentice Co-ordinator

“We have over 3,000 employees and you will always find at least one apprentice in each of our departments across the business. At the start of their course they spend three months in each of our warehouse departments. That nine months gives them a crucial understanding of our core operation and afterwards they get to choose a support team to work in for the final three months. Our apprentices find the job that they love and that makes them more likely to stay with us as a happy and productive member of our XPO family.

“The apprenticeship definitely helps us to retain talent and it often propels an existing employee into a different role that offers them new challenges and greater fulfilment. Over time, we are nurturing the development of our whole workforce so that each colleague is multi-skilled and has an in-depth understanding of the core business.

“Barnsley College consistently delivers candidates who have that great attitude and work ethic. The College is very responsive to our needs and the quality of the training is excellent.”

Jamie Ollivant, Business Owner

“Taking on an apprentice with no prior work experience or bad habits means that person is learning our way of working from scratch. It’s a very cost-effective way to recruit.

“We wanted someone who would be committed to the job and stay with us for the medium to long term. Recruiting an apprentice gives us a succession plan to ensure that we can keep on top of our workload and service levels. It feels good to be supporting a younger person into the profession and the business too.

“We have been really bowled-over by our apprentice’s initiative, enthusiasm and work ethic.”

Paul Hanks, Company Director

“Apprentices are certainly helping my business to grow and increasing productivity. An apprenticeship gives a young person salon experience and hopefully a job at the end of their course. Having trainee stylists in the salon allows us to keep up with current styles and trends.”

Simon Wardley, Apprenticeship Facilitator

“We agree on a delivery plan which is tailored to the bespoke needs of the Trust and the individual apprentice’s learning style. To ensure our staff are progressing, the College provides regular progress updates and review meetings and they actively participate in our assessment centres.

“We have staff regularly passing their End Point Assessment and achieving their apprenticeship with very good support from the trainers at the College.”

Angela Wraith, Practice Manager

“Our approach towards recruitment influenced our decision to work with Barnsley College because, unlike other providers, they don’t require students to have English and Maths qualifications at enrolment. Our apprentices are taught these key skills as part of their apprenticeship which allows us to recruit based on attitude and train for skills, in order to give an opportunity to someone who might otherwise miss out.

“An apprentice takes on a low wage and commits to the hard-work of training in order to retain a position and earn more. Simply choosing that route into the profession demonstrates that they are keen and invested from the beginning. The new Apprenticeship Standards cover all the skills we need so that we don’t have to invest in additional training.”

Gavin Day, Organisational Development Manager

“As time goes on, the Academy will help to reduce the risk of us suffering major skills shortages as we are continuously assessing and mitigating this through our work with the College. We can ensure that each apprentice we employ from the Academy has both the skills we need and the behaviours we expect to see too.

“Our more experienced engineers are able to pass on their knowledge, skills and experience to the younger recruits coming through the Academy, and our newly qualified apprentices are also mentoring the new recruits, which gives them management experience to enrich their skillset.

“Our apprentices have a very specific progression pathway that is determined from the outset of their employment with the business, and the assurance that we are investing in their future. Our commitment to their development is important to them and helps us to be a great employer of choice, it’s also key to our ability to retain them.”