An Airdrie employer dedicated to providing opportunities to people from under-represented groups has been recognised at the Scottish Apprenticeship Awards, which take place on March 8.
Bell Decorating Group uses work experience placements and taster days to help refugees, care leavers, ex-offenders, cadets and those leaving the military, as well as those furthest from the employment ladder from the communities in which they operate.
The family owned and operated firm has employed more than 1,000 apprentices since 1984 and will be offering a work taster session to Ukrainian refugees on 6 March to promote apprenticeship vacancies.
Founder George Bell started out as an apprentice and today the painting and building maintenance contractor has a clear vision to employ 100 apprentices a year nationally over the next five years.
The business currently employs 89 apprentices in Scotland, through Modern Apprenticeships in Painting and Decorating, Carpentry and Joinery, Site Management, Occupational Work Supervision and Construction Management.
Head of Learning & Organisational Development Julie Lawrenson said: “Having recently had our application to offer jobs to Ukrainians granted by the Home Office, we are currently working on a specific project in Scotland in collaboration with key partners by opening doors to promote the construction sector and apprenticeship vacancies to refugees.
“We are currently planning a series of events that will be delivered through our training centre in Airdrie during Scottish Apprenticeship Week.”
These initiatives have seen the Bell Group named as a finalist in this year’s Scottish Apprenticeship Awards in the Large Employer of the Year – Promoting Diversity category.
The company’s success in retaining all apprentices at its own training centre through the COVID-19 pandemic is also a badge of honour. Julie said: “We are proud of what we have achieved through our Apprenticeship Training Centre.
“We were awarded a Scottish Government contract for the delivery of painting and decorating apprenticeships and opened in Spring 2020 just as the country went into lockdown.
“Despite the challenges of having to recruit and deliver our programme remotely for the first six months, we recruited 13 new apprentices and managed to sustain them on programme.
“We have since recruited a further 24 apprentices who are being trained through our training centre and the aspiration is to grow our programme year on year from 2023 with an aspiration this year to recruit an additional 40 apprentices across Scotland.
Over 12,000 employers support Scottish Apprenticeships, which are work-based learning opportunities or jobs with industry-recognised qualifications. Designed with employers for employers, Scottish Apprenticeships are demand-led and responsive to regional skills needs.
Winners will be revealed at the awards, organised by Skills Development Scotland and set to take place during Scottish Apprenticeship Week from 6-10 March. Find out more about the award finalists and the event at apprenticeships.scot/awards.