Farrans joins NI Chamber panel discussion for NI Apprenticeship Week

We were pleased to join NI Chamber, in partnership with NIE Networks, for yesterday’s Future Workforce Series held at Sensata Technologies in Newtownabbey.

Our Utilities Director John Murphy joined a panel discussion explaining why businesses should invest in and recruit apprentices.

Here is our approach to the next generation of talent in our industry:

👷🏻‍♀️Almost 17% of our business is made up of people in the early stages of their careers – Graduates, Placements and Apprentices.
🏗️We started our apprenticeship journey in 2017 with three people. We now have 40 apprentices at various stages of their qualifications.
🎓 The majority of our apprentices follow the Higher Level Apprenticeship route, studying disciplines such as Civil Engineering, Construction in the Built Environment, and Quantity Surveying, among others.
✨ Apprentices gain the skills that are tailored to our business and we see improved staff retention due to the strong loyalty they have with us.
📚 Educating parents on what a high-level apprenticeship involves is key.
🙋🏻‍♂️ Higher level apprenticeships are now so popular among students that the demand outweighs the supply. Only 11% of employers offer them in Northern Ireland.