An apprentice is proving a perfect fit at a Warwickshire electrical engineering company after he was recruited thanks to support from a Warwickshire County Council programme.
College-leaver Toby Baston joined Lighthorne-based RLE Futuremotiv where he is learning all the skills required to help safeguard the company’s future at the heart of this fast-developing sector. Toby’s apprenticeship has been supported by a £2,000 Future Apprenticeship - Salary Support payment, which forms part of Warwickshire County Council's Future Focus Skills Programme delivered by Warwickshire Skills Hub.
The Salary Support Scheme has assisted the growth plans of RLE Futuremotiv, the electrical sister company of global engineering firm RLE, but is just part of the “immense” support that the business has received from Warwickshire Skills Hub.
Lorraine Jones, Human Resources Manager at RLE Futuremotiv, is based at the company’s head office in Basildon, so has found the ongoing advice from the Skills Hub team priceless - not least in helping to bring Toby on board.
“The knowledge of the Skills Hub team was invaluable,” she said. “I’ve always been interested in apprenticeships but having the projection of work coming down the track to support the required training has always been quite challenging. But then we reached a position that really lends itself to an apprentice - and the Skills Hub made it happen. They helped us find the right training provider and supported us with a grant.
“Toby is doing really well. He is in the workshop at the moment and the next phase will be for him to do some Engineering Data System work and get more involved in prototyping.”
So smooth was the apprenticeship process that RLE Futuremotiv is now planning to bring more Warwickshire school-leavers into the fold.
“We’d like to use this as a platform to look at more apprenticeships,” said Lorraine. “We hope to commit to at least one more each year. This has shown us that the electrical engineering sector can really accommodate not just graduates but school-leavers as well.
“We were fortunate this year to take on four graduates who have really grown with us, but I think the school-leaver sector tends to get overlooked from an engineering perspective. We are keen to explore that in more detail and go forward and use the talents of young people like Toby.”
Going forward, RLE Futuremotiv will continue to benefit from the expertise of the Skills Hub team.
“I am based at our head office in Essex but most of our work is done in Warwickshire and the Midlands so building up contacts in that area is so important for me,” said Lorraine. “My first introduction to the Skills Hub was primarily to look at training that was available in that area and to build up a bit more of a network. Was I missing anything because I was not based locally?
“Louise Stolz and Steven Convery at the Skills Hub have been brilliant. When I asked about the apprenticeship, they totally understood our needs. They asked what we wanted to grow Toby into and really steered me along the path. My knowledge of apprenticeships was really only round office and admin roles so it was new territory me and I really thank them for the guidance. Steven spoke to some of the training providers on our behalf just to ensure they matched what we needed. Then came the Salary Support grant and the support has been all-round brilliant.”
Louise Stolz, Future Skills Business Support Advisor, at Warwickshire Skills Hub, said: "The Automotive & Future Mobility sector is a major employer and driver of economic activity in the county and recognised as such in the Warwickshire Economic Growth Strategy, with electrification skills important cross sector as the UK economy seeks to decarbonise. RLE Futuremotiv are at the forefront of this and it has been a real pleasure supporting them not just with skills generally but also helping to put Toby on a path towards a fulfilling career."
“It is always great to welcome new businesses into Warwickshire from across the UK and beyond. Our role at the Skills Hub is to ensure they have the skills support they require for their workforce, alongside working with our colleagues in Economic Development, to provide them with all the local information and contacts they need".
If you would like to know more about the support available from Warwickshire Skills Hub, around apprenticeships and upskilling, or the wider support from Warwickshire County Council around inward investment into our region, then please do get in touch:
louisestolz@warwickshire.gov.uk
stevenconvery@warwickshire.gov.uk
ianflynn@warwickshire.gov.uk