Apprenticeship set Shakeela on the right path

The value of a good apprenticeship has been underlined by a new appointment made by EEF Venues at its venue in Leamington Spa.

Shakeela Cumberbatch has joined the business at Woodland Grange in Leamington where she is now responsible for generating new leads and developing business across the group.

And Shakeela arrived in her new job having benefited from the unique hands-on experience which comes from an apprenticeship. After leaving college in August 2014 she joined The Ricoh Arena in Coventry as an apprentice before going on to become a sales executive there.

With that grounding, she quickly progressed through the ranks to gain strong experience of working within a highly-targeted sales conference sales environment to secure high profile corporate clients and large events.

Now she joins the sales team at EEF with a brief to support its operation across its three AIM gold-accredited venues: Woodland Grange in Leamington Spa, Broadway House in Westminster and Engineers’ House, Bristol.

David Vaughton, director of venues for EEF Venues, said: "Our year-on-year order book is 21% ahead of the corresponding point last year, so this latest investment is an indication of the confidence we feel in the market.

“The diversity and calibre of the business gained is testament to our strong sales team, led by Anna Poole, our national sales manager, whose commercial focus and people skills continue to impact on our performance.”