Oxford East MP Andrew Smith today (Friday 13th March 2015) met with apprentices at Unipart’s headquarters in Cowley, Oxford to find out how Unipart’s Apprenticeship Programme has helped them get a foot on the career ladder.
The visit marked the end of National Apprenticeship Week and the Rt Hon Andrew Smith used the opportunity to meet with a number of Unipart Apprentices to hear first-hand how they have developed since joining Unipart, what key projects they have worked on and what their ambitions are once they successfully complete the programme.
Unipart has three and four year Apprenticeship programmes running in Unipart Logistics, Unipart Manufacturing and Unipart Rail and it has also launched a one year Business & Administration Apprenticeship programme.
The programmes are delivered through a combination of work based learning and on-the-job training and with the support of coaching and mentoring provides the Apprentice with a structured approach to learning whilst giving valuable work experience. The programmes have a strong success rate, that is Apprentices who complete their full Apprenticeship, of more than 80% compared to the national average of 75%.
As well as embracing the certified Apprenticeship programme aligned to the particular business needs, the programme is specifically tailored to include the Unipart Way – Unipart’s philosophy of working which drives operational excellence, customer engagement and employee engagement. Taking the best thinking, learning and practical expertise from within Unipart and from the best companies in the world, through highly engaged people The Unipart Way helps to increase productivity and deliver continuous improvements not only within Unipart but within Unipart’s clients’ businesses. The Apprenticeship programme also focuses on developing team leaders of the future.
During his visit the Rt Hon Andrew Smith MP met Matthew Kavanagh, a third year apprentice based at Unipart’s logistics site in Baginton, Coventry. Matt is currently in an assistant team leader role managing a small team. He has supported Unipart Aftermarket Logistics on short international assignments in India and Atlanta.