Newcastle Building Society invests in apprenticeship programme

A North East mutual has reaffirmed its commitment to providing career opportunities for young people by investing in its annual apprenticeship programme.

Newcastle Building Society is looking to take on five apprentices this year and is running two virtual open days during the forthcoming National Apprenticeship Week.

Despite the fact that most colleagues are working remote due to the pandemic, the new recruits will undertake a training and development programme for around two years that will see them earn a nationally recognised workplace qualification.

Newcastle Building Society first launched its apprenticeship programme in 2017 and since then, 35 young people have gone on to secure permanent positions within the organisation.

The lender is one of just a handful of North East organisations to have achieved the ‘Platinum’ Investors in People (IIP) standard.

Kirsten Lightfoot, head of people development at Newcastle Building Society, said: “Making strategic investments in North East skills and talent at all levels is absolutely vital to our continuing success and we have already seen apprentices making a big impact on how we work as they begin to develop their careers.

“We know this is a particularly challenging time for young people looking to get onto the career ladder and have prioritised making sure that the excellent development opportunities our apprenticeship programme offers are sustained.

“Our apprenticeships cover a wide range of business functions, from marketing and IT services through to finance and branch-based roles, and they all offer the chance for recruits to get involved with ‘live’ projects almost straight away with the full support of expert colleagues and training providers.

“The enhanced rate of pay that we offer also recognises the contribution our apprentice recruits make to the business.”