Apprenticeships and other ‘earn and learn’ schemes represent a central tenet of this philosophy as we support our employees’ professional development. Our commitment to apprenticeships saw us achieve Silver membership of The 5% Club last year, with earn and learn schemes making up almost 4% of our workforce.
Iain Brown, Internal Sales at our North West branch, is benefitting from a Sales Executive Level 4 apprenticeship to develop his skillset. Iain supports customers from our Encon Construction Products and Encon Insulation divisions, and his apprenticeship is helping him understand and utilise different skills when interacting with customers to ensure we can provide them with all the support they need.
This National Apprenticeship Week, we speak to Iain to find out how his course is supporting his learning…
Iain explains: “When I joined Encon in October 2023 I had never previously worked in sales, so I’ve enjoyed getting to grips with the basics of the role over the last year, meeting customers and learning from my colleagues. After sitting down with Kevin Parkinson, Site Director, and Lisa Williams, Assistant Branch Manager, we decided an apprenticeship would help me take my skills to the next level. We considered a couple of different courses but agreed that the Sales Executive Level 4 apprenticeship would be most beneficial.
“I’m really keen to be an asset to the business so I jumped at the opportunity to get stuck into my learning. The chance to gain experience and qualifications in new areas was an important factor when I decided to join Encon so I’m grateful for the branch’s backing and support. I’m already applying what I’ve learned to my day-to-day work, from the psychology of sales to different techniques for unlocking difficult conversations.”
Iain’s Level 4 apprenticeship is an equivalent standard to the first year of an undergraduate degree, and courses are available all the way up to Level 7, which is equivalent to a Master’s degree.
It’s a common misconception that apprenticeships are just for school leavers, but they can benefit people at every stage of their career and can even support later life career changes.
A principal benefit of apprenticeships is the ability to gain hands-on experience alongside learning. Iain’s qualification combines his day job with online workshops delivered by a tutor, attending customer and supplier meetings and product and application training. This is all completed and logged within working hours, enhancing the learning experience and counting towards ‘off the job’ learning hours.
Iain expands: “It can be challenging to manage my time between my day job and my additional learning, but the branch helps me keep on top of everything. I catch up with Lisa after each workshop, as well as discussing my learnings in a more informal setting with my branch colleagues. The branch has been so supportive in allowing me to set time aside every day to progress my learning, while also focusing on my day-to-day tasks.
“On any given day, I might find myself responding to customer queries and orders, processing tickets and proactively checking in with my customer base to find out how their projects are progressing and if we can provide any further support. For example, they may benefit from a visit from a member of our external team or some technical advice from one of our manufacturer partners. Later this year I also intend to visit customers on site to see their projects first hand, which will add even more variety to my current schedule.
A benefit of the mixed delivery methods in apprenticeship courses is the opportunity to share experiences and best practice with other learners. Iain adds: “I am the only person from construction in my cohort, with events and technology among the other industries represented. It’s been interesting to hear different perspectives and approaches to common challenges, which I’m trying to take into my own job to make me a more rounded individual.”
Find out more about working at Encon, including the training and development opportunities through The Encon Academy.
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