Meet two of Portico’s new apprentices

National Apprenticeship Week is all about building bridges between students, schools, colleges, career advisers and employers.

Every year, organisations operating across almost every sector of the UK economy come together to present valuable opportunities enabling the next generation of talent to gain vital experience in the working world.

Portico is an active champion of apprenticeships for several reasons. First, apprenticeships give us the chance to change perceptions and demonstrate to younger generations that the hospitality sector represents a rich and varied career path. Second, there is no hiding from the fact that we face a severe skills shortage – bringing younger generations into the industry is absolutely essential to solving this problem. And third, we can learn a tremendous amount from fresh approaches that apprentices can bring to the table. When done right, apprenticeships truly are a two-way learning process.

Indeed, some of the youngest learners within our business have joined at the age of 18, with many kicking on from these early beginnings to build highly rewarding careers, both with us and across the hospitality and security industry more broadly.

We support apprentices by bringing them into our Development Journeys programme that is also available to each and every one of our employees.

Our apprentice schemes cover a range of essential hospitality roles, and we are aligned with the following courses and industry qualifications:

• Coaching Professional, Level: 5
• HR Consultant Partner, Level: 5
• Event Assistant, Level, 3
• Senior Leader, Level: 7
• Chartered Manager (degree), Level: 6
• Business Administrator, Level: 3
• Hospitality Supervisor, Level: 3
• Operations or Departmental Manager, Level: 5

Meet Kat and Eryk!

We enrol multiple apprentices onto our Development Journeys throughout the year.

Two recent additions are Kat Burkova, Senior Leadership plus MBA (CMI), Level 7, and Eryk Skrzypczak, Operations Departmental Manager, Level 5, who took some time out to share their experiences.

What is involved?

Kat: “The programme spans 24 months and consists of six modules, an end point assessment, and a research project. The modules include Personal & Business Transformation, Ethical Leadership, Managing within a Competitive Environment, Leading Transitions, Implementing Strategy, Sustaining the Business, and finally a Workplace Project.”

Eryk: “The programme helps me to understand the operational management approaches and models. I learn how to create plans to deliver objectives, understand business development tools and build planning techniques. The course involves workshops and classes related to managing resources, the development of sales and marketing plans, setting targets, managing teams and monitoring performance.”

How will it/has it helped in your career?

Kat: “I am halfway through my modules and can see the benefits already. I get to expand my professional network as the course is attended by a wide range of individuals from various industries. The ultimate goal for me it to make myself more competitive – this is a great opportunity that not only helps to build and formalise my leadership and management training and experiences, but also improve my future career prospects and show employers my potential and drive to continuously improve.”

Eryk: “I am learning a lot of new things that help me to perform better in my current position. I feel more confident as a leader, and I am sure that the experience and knowledge I’m gaining will help me to grow in my career and open the door to new opportunities.”

Would you recommend taking an apprenticeship? If so, why?

Kat: “Studying a course that is backed by the employer is an amazing way to get education and training with their full support – if they sponsor you, they want you to succeed. It is all distance learning, but if you make a plan, it is very manageable. The added benefit is the fact that at the end of it there are no student loans. The only wealth involved is knowledge.”

Eryk: “I would definitely recommend an apprenticeship to those who seek not only to build their knowledge and improve their career development, but also grow as a person and learn new things. I am grateful that I’ve had this opportunity with Portico.”

Could you be our next apprentice?
Portico will continue to support the next generation of eager learners in their quest to develop skills and build a foundation for their careers.

FM is an extremely diverse sector that requires a range of skills in a huge variety of situations and environments, making it one of the best suited industries for apprenticeships. Don’t just take Kat and Eryk’s word for it – come and see for yourself!

To learn more about our learning and development programmes, including apprenticeships, head to our careers page or contact us at peopleservices@portico.co.uk