Securitas uses its Apprentice Levy fund to establish its own thriving security apprenticeship programme and donates £228,000 to fund apprentice programmes for outreach charity P3.
The Apprenticeship Levy was introduced by the UK government in 2017 to help get more apprenticeships up and running in companies across the country. The levy sees larger employers, like Securitas, pay into a fund which they then reinvest in creating apprenticeships within their business. Employer groups – known as Trailblazers – have collaborated across their sector to put together new apprenticeship programmes and Securitas is a major contributor to creating the standards for the security sector. In fact Pauline Gunn, our Head of Learning and Development, is Chair of the Level 2 Apprenticeship Trailblazer group in our industry, “Creating an apprenticeship programme is a really effective way to develop a motivated, skilled and qualified workforce,” she says. “Our apprenticeship programme went live in July of this year, and we have made great progress in attracting and developing a core of fresh young talent. We already have nearly a dozen apprentices enrolled and are currently recruiting for more in security officer and control room operator roles in different parts of the country.”
Sharing the opportunity
Employers that pay the apprenticeship levy can also give up to 25% of their
fund to help other smaller businesses or charities finance their own apprenticeship programmes. Over the past few years Calderwood House, a hostel that helps the homeless in Cumbria, has been a key focus of Securitas fundraising activities so it was obvious recipient for some of our apprenticeship levy fund. As a result, plans are underway to facilitate a marketing apprenticeship programme for a member of the Calderwood House team. We were also keen to support apprentice programmes for an organisation working with the homeless on a larger scale. As a charity that provides outreach services for the homeless across many different communities P3 (“People, Potential and Possibilities”) was an ideal candidate.
Using £228,000 gifted from Securitas’ apprentice levy fund, P3 has been able to enrol 19 learners on a Data-Driven Professional programme with Corndel, a strategic skills training and development partner. These apprenticeships will increase the data literacy of people across P3 including their People, Operations, and IT Teams, and ultimately help them find ways to streamline services and optimise budgets. The apprentices will work through the programme over the coming year and are due to complete in January 2025.
“Improving our digital approach and data is a priority”, says Mark Simms, CEO of P3, “We are building on a data-led culture to improve our decision-making and enhance the services we provide to the people in the community who need it most. The support from Securitas is fundamental in moving this forward and we are extremely grateful.”
