Apprenticeships at Bakers
Today marks the first day of National Apprenticeship week. A core belief of Bakers is the development of our staff, so apprenticeships and training are something we place a high importance on. In November last year we were even crowned winners in the Digital Print Awards Closing the Skills Gap category. This was in recognition of our efforts on staff development and recruitment of young people to the print industry. Our current and past Bakers Apprentices have all been great additions to the company and we are extremely proud of their progression
Past Bakers Apprentices
Evan
Evan was our youngest apprentice when he joined Bakers in 2018 at the age of 16. He was very familiar to Bakers as his father, Phil our Production Supervisor, is one of Bakers’ longest serving employees. With the help of the BPIF, Evan passed his apprenticeship two years later. He very quickly became a dependable operator, able to run various presses in our finishing department and is now running the Screen ink jet press. Evan is a hardworking and reliable employee.
Speaking on his apprenticeship he said: ‘I am proud of how I have changed. My confidence is a lot better and I find talking to new people easy, helping me in day to day life. I have learned a lot of new skills that will help me in the future’.
Tom
Tom started his apprenticeship at Bakers at 18, after leaving school and completing his A levels. Tom’s apprenticeship was a Digital Press Technician. After 2 years he completed his apprenticeship in 2019. Due to his time as an apprentice and his continued development at Bakers he has become one of Bakers top Inkjet operators. He now shares his knowledge and skills by training newer members of staff as operators.
Speaking on his time as a Bakers apprentice: ‘My apprenticeship taught me a lot and made me a much better person and colleague to work with. It has made me more mature and more sensible when it comes to everyday life and decisions in the workplace.’
Current Bakers Apprentices
Beth
Beth, joined Bakers to do an apprenticeship in Business Administration, as her skillset suited this role perfectly. After starting in a Reception and Office Admin role, she progressed very quickly, and has recently been promoted to a Despatch Coordinator role. She is doing exceptionally well in her apprenticeship, so much so, that she is due to complete her apprenticeship in less time than originally anticipated.
Speaking on her time with Bakers: ‘My career development at Bakers is completely different to what I thought I would have as a job. I am content and happy at Bakers. They have taught me a lot and I have grown as person. I have learned that strong communication between colleagues/departments especially is very important. I learn best working 1 to 1 alongside someone where I can ask lots of questions at the time and have someone checking my work, particularly earlier on.’
Connor
Connor is completing a level 2 ‘Print Technician Apprenticeship’. He spends his time working in the factory with print operators as well as in the office alongside our planning department. This gives him a wide range of knowledge as he gains experience with the presses and the print expertise needed behind planning how a job should be run. He is progressing very nicely, and is expected to complete his apprenticeship ahead of the original completion date.
Speaking on his career development at Bakers, ‘I do feel like my career has really developed since I joined Bakers. My planning knowledge has increased a lot since I started a year ago, however there is still so much more to learn, so I’m eager to continue learning everything about planning. When I started my apprenticeship, I expected to think that I wouldn’t be sure what I would want to do after my apprenticeship, but I already know that I want to build a future at Bakers and develop my planning skills.’
This year the theme of Apprenticeship Week is ‘Skills for Life’.
Along with the apprenticeship training they receive from BPIF and on-the-job training at Bakers, they also have access to our extracurricular training such as ‘Email Etiquette’, ‘Manual Handling’ and ‘First Aid’. Our current apprentices Connor and Beth, have both recently completed “Mental Health First Aid” training.
At Bakers our staff are our most important assets so their wellbeing both in their work and personal lives are paramount to the success of the company. For this reason, all our employees are consistently offered help when they need it and opportunities for self-development.
To learn more about working at Bakers and the opportunities available