Management apprentices are latest to join company’s rich talent pool

Award winning building and roofing specialist, Hodgson Sayers, has announced the appointment of two management apprentices.

29-year-old Ashley Dickie, from Whickham and 19-year-old Jack Franklin from Catchgate, Durham will both study for a BTEC level three diploma in management at Derwentside College. The company now has 24 apprentices, representing 20% of the workforce.

The quality of apprentices within the business is exceptionally high and this year alone 17-year-old Kieran Forster has won the coveted 2018 Icopal national flat roofing apprentice of the year and David Crank is in the UK final of the Skillbuild competition.

Jack said: “I heard about the management apprentice opportunity as I live locally and the company was known to my family and myself.

“The role appealed to me because I get to work across all aspects of the business and I have the opportunity to then identify and pursue the area I am most suited to.

“I am currently working with the senior management team and they are involving me on job cost analysis and reconciliations.

“Our college tutor will come to the company each month and assess our work. I keep a log of activity which documents anything from coaching to management techniques. Ashley and I will also undertake a written exam.”

Ashley said: “Having studied for a mental health nursing degree and worked in a contact centre, I wanted a change in career, a new challenge and to work in a business where I can progress.

“The diploma is so varied and I get the chance to manage team performance, learn the principles of people management and leadership as well as working across the company to collaborate with and learn from other departments.”

John Sayers, managing director at Hodgson Sayers, said: “We warmly welcome Ashley and Jack to the team. The management apprentice diploma provides an opportunity for them to pursue an area of the business that they feel would be best suited to their skill set.

“We believe that with the right investment from us and support from our training providers, we can greatly improve our overall quality standards, whilst having a positive impact on the apprentices we employ.

“Ashley and Jack join at a time of expansion for the company, which includes the opening of our first base outside of the North East, in Nottingham. They will be part of a very talented crop of apprentices that are operating across the business and whose talents are being recognised at the highest level on the national stage.”