Wednesday, 17 Feb 2016 10:16 GMT

Signs Express and Pinetree campaign on apprentices

Jo Golding hears from two industry veterans supporting the next generation.

Brown positively promotes the apprenticeship scheme and encourages all of his Signs Express franchisees to consider employing apprentices. He cites success stories such as Brandon Desborough, who started as an apprentice for Signs Express (Northampton).

Brown explains: “Brandon had been looking for a job for a few months and just wasn’t getting a break. To help explore options, local organisation Starting Off arranged for Brandon to attend a work experience placement, which then lead to an apprenticeship with the Northampton centre.”  

He continues: “He attended monthly customer service workshops at the training centre while Signs Express developed his sign making and vehicle wrapping skills.  He has gone on to become one of the youngest people in the UK to be an authorised 3M vehicle wrapper.

“Now, he’s had his skills recognised at a national level after the centre won best personal vehicle graphics project at the recent British Sign Awards, a job he personally managed. A very high profile project which was a great demonstration of his skills.”

Centre owner Mark Meadowcroft, who organised the apprenticeship, commented: “Brandon’s apprenticeship helped him to discover what he enjoys and is good at and he backed that up with a great attitude and a willingness to learn. I’ve since recruited another apprentice through the same scheme and enjoy helping them to learn new skills and find their career path.”

This experience has reinforced our belief in the apprenticeship scheme and it has proved that it is attitude and determination, not age and experience, that counts”


Pinetree’s Kiddey is an ‘apprenticeship ambassador’ for the Skills Funding Agency and Federation of Small Businesses, and says he is always looking for ways to promote the apprenticeship scheme.

Kiddey and Brown met again at the recent Signs Express convention where Pinetree, a loyal supplier to Signs Express for over sixteen years, was presented with a “Supplier of the Year” finalist certificate.  It was here that the two discussed their shared interest in apprenticeships and agreed to a combined venture to promote them.

“Apprenticeships are a true win win situation,” says Kiddey, who adds: “Something all businesses are looking for. We have found the apprenticeship benefits both the business and the student. We have recently taken on our fourth apprentice, Eden Carter.”

When Carter joined Pinetree Enterprises three months ago, little did either party realise how quickly they would benefit. Working for the senior accounts manager, her basic training was in telephone manner and techniques, along with the standard familiarisation in health and safety and employment law. But when her boss, Anna Cass, went skiing at Christmas she broke her leg and would be off work for six weeks.

The company had little choice but to throw Carter in at the deep end, as Kiddey explains: “We didn’t know who was most surprised, when not only did we discover that she could swim very well, but are now considering whether she should enter the Olympics.”

Carter joined in a role of sales support and is taking a Level 2 NVQ in sales. This is not a main line apprenticeship, but one that the company were keen to follow as they could learn modern techniques along with Eden, without large training costs. This is something they had previously done successfully in the area of digital marketing.

What has impressed Kiddey the most is the speed at which she has learned and how, in her own words, she is now “feeling far more mature than my friends.”

Kiddey concludes: “This experience has reinforced our belief in the apprenticeship scheme and it has proved that it is attitude and determination, not age and experience, that counts.”

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