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United Rental Group advocate upskilling their workforce

13 June 2024
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We are always eager to hear back from our employers about the benefits of apprenticeships for both the employer and employee. We spoke to Kerry Apps from United Rental Group about their current cohort of apprentices and the positives of upskilling their current workforce. United Rental Group is a B2B rental service. The company has been in central Chesterfield for 33 years. Kerry has worked in various departments across the company for 19 years, finding her calling in HR 5 years ago.

The benefits of staying local.

“I contacted the college after looking into the Apprenticeship Levy and reading about the benefits for the company and in upskilling our employees. The college being right on our doorstep was a major selling point, plus you offered the apprenticeship we were looking for. It was a win-win.

Upskilling our current workforce.

We wanted to upskill our current workforce. We have tried a couple of short courses in the past. All with positive feedback but nothing our employees thought they could apply to their roles. The Level 3 Supervisor Apprenticeship is ideal for what I wanted and the team wanted. All those on the course have progressed through their roles and are current managers they just don’t have the qualifications to back it up, hence why we decided on an apprenticeship. They can do the jobs inside and out, just in terms of the people management side and leadership role, they need support and more knowledge, which the apprenticeship is providing.

Work life balance.

All the apprentices are working alongside their current roles at the company. They have monthly 4-hour sessions with their tutor on teams and one-to-ones alongside that. We encourage our employees to schedule their protected study time in work hours rather than private time. We want to support them and they all have lives outside of work.

Retention of good people.

The fact that we’re investing in their development is a big thing and they see that. Also for me very selfishly, it helps us  keep the retention of good people. I am already noticing that they are asking me questions that they would’ve never asked before, which is great. We have been flexible in terms of they’re doing something on the course that they are not currently doing in their roles, we will expose them to that area of the business so they can understand it more.” Are you looking to upskill your current employees or hire an apprentice? Everything you need to know as an employer can be found here.