Ian Williams celebrates National Apprenticeship Week at Ashton Gate

Property services specialist Ian Williams has held a Qualification Celebration lunch at Bristol’s Ashton Gate Stadium to coincide with National Apprenticeship Week 2017.

Attended by 40 people, the inaugural event celebrated the company’s 21 apprentice, trainee and staff achievers. 

Employing approximately 1,000 staff, Ian Williams  is committed to direct delivery of its services and has a commitment to 10% of its total workforce being apprentices in 2017. The Ian Williams Academy manages this programme, delivering over 6,000 days of training and personal development in 2016.

Sian Pearce, Training and Development Manager, kicked off the event at Ashton Gate. Explaining the thinking behind the event, she said:

“Quite simply, we’re here today to celebrate the successes achieved by Ian Williams’ apprentices and trainees. We appreciate the commitment and effort that everyone has made and recognise that studying and working at the same time is no mean feat. 

Fifty-three individuals are currently undergoing our training programme across disciplines including M+E, plumbing, painting and decorating and carpentry. The scale of the programme is only possible thanks to our Board of Directors’ drive to support education and personal development and higher standards across the business.”

Guest speaker Catherine Bullough from CITB added: “This is one week of the year when we celebrate the real achievements made by apprentices. Construction is such an important sector in the UK and regionally, Ian Williams is a significant employer. 

Despite being democratic and open to everyone, we’re facing big skill shortages and need to address the drop off among older workers who retire and take with them a lifetime of skills. That’s why programmes like the Ian Williams’ Academy are so important, as they allow us as an industry to confront skill shortages through partnership, co-design and co-delivery.”

Ian Williams Managing Director, Andy Havard, summed up the importance of trainees and apprentices to Ian Williams: “I started my career at Ian Williams 32 years ago, as a Trainee Surveyor and Operations Director, Ken Jones first joined us as a painter. 

The career paths are there to see. In this room today are the future managers and directors who will eventually take the reins at Ian Williams and drive profitable growth over the next 70 years. Congratulations to everyone today for their achievements.”

Recruitment has now started for the 2017 Apprentice intake. Visit the Ian Williams website for more information.