Alongside our Director of Sustainable Business Consulting, Claire Robinson, Transform have been exploring what sustainability means to us. Sustainability isn’t just about the environment; it’s about creating long term prosperity for people – creating social and economic as well as environmental impacts. Transform have a long history of creating positive impacts for citizens across the services we build for clients, but we’ve also embraced this approach internally, ensuring we’re delivering social value and supporting the economic growth of the UK.
The tech industry is one of the poorest performing in terms of diversity of background, so we’ve been working to address this via our apprenticeship program focussed on creating opportunities for decent work. The program is spearheaded by our Head of Talent, Kat Kallend, who was happy to share insights, challenges and advice for those considering doing similar
What is the apprenticeship programme and why did we start it?
When we first toyed with the idea of taking on apprentices, we knew there was more than one way into tech and data and that the industry wasn’t as strict as the medical field, for example, where you’d need formal training to be a doctor. At the same time, we also knew our industry isn't as diverse as it could be, so one of our top priorities in selecting providers for the programme was to ensure it would be as inclusive as possible for people from different walks of life.
There’s an age-old view of apprenticeships being for young people, but our goal was to encourage applicants from different backgrounds, schooling and life experiences, regardless of whether this was a first job, someone returning to work or a career change - like a mechanic hoping to get into the world of UX. Society is a wonderful blend of humans and if we don’t have diverse people on board, how can we create products and services that really work for everyone? So, it felt important that, along with the good things we do within Transform, we be part of the change and give people opportunities they may not ordinarily have.
To do exactly that, we created pathways across all different areas of the business, offering a broad scope of roles within technology and then we also thought about what training, in addition to the course providers’, would look like from our side. It was important that we fostered an environment where the apprentices could grow and develop their skills in a work and educational setting.
Finally, we thought about the fact that we exist in a digital-first world with online applications and remote interview processes, but what happens when people don’t have access to laptops? Therefore, it was hugely important to us that the providers we selected were able to remove such barriers.
With all those considerations in mind, we carefully selected the courses and providers and then spent around eight weeks interviewing the applicants. Interviews should be a two-way street; by the time we had learnt more about them, we also wanted them to know what the job would look like, what our culture was and how they’d fit into Transform. It’s a big commitment, especially for some of our degree apprenticeships, where someone’s dedicating four years, so it was as important for them to be sure it was the right place for them as it was for us to have the best fit.
The great thing is, we came away with ten brilliant people, and even though they were all signing on for different courses, they started at the same time, which added to the sense of community through those key peer relationships. It's been great to see them develop their own support structure where they feel at ease to talk about their challenges and solutions as cohorts.
What to expect and tips
Apprenticeships are a brilliant way to take your first steps into a new industry. Not diminishing universities or the value of traditional education, but often in tech, you don’t need a degree and hands on experience can be more valuable. Plus, you’re learning life skills like conflict resolution and problem-solving under pressure at the same time.
Having said that, an apprenticeship shouldn’t be taken lightly – understand going in, that it will be tough. For one, finding the right one can be challenging, but if you do your research, go to open days and meet with different providers, you’ll likely find a match. Secondly, you’ll be learning and working at the same time and there will be times where you wonder how it’s all achievable; that’s where support systems are especially important.
What are some of the challenges?
From an employer’s perspective, I think it’s the fact that you’ll be asked things by apprentices that you probably wouldn’t be asked in a more traditional hiring process. It's such a different way of bringing someone into the business and even the interview process reflects that. So, embracing the differences of someone coming in and learning everything on the job as opposed to already having the knowledge can be challenging, even if it’s in a good way.
Then, of course, your business should be flexible with time management: never forget, apprentices have learning time each week.
There’s also a challenge in changing our culture and thinking to create environments where apprentices thrive. Some businesses still aren’t open-minded to hiring ‘inexperienced’ people, but it doesn’t just deliver social value, it also makes room for innovation. We, in the tech and data industry especially, have a constant need for change and forward-thinking and who better to assist than a fresh pair of eyes? We should focus on getting fresh thinkers into a room to create a multi-dimensional team with different levels of experience and plenty of character. At the end of the day, you can train anyone, but you really want to invest in people who bring a new perspective.
What’s next?
Some of our apprentices have gone on to fully join us and we couldn’t be happier. Others are still on the programme at the moment, but we’ve absolutely seen the value in onboarding people in this way, both for apprentices, but also for our experienced people who’ve had the opportunity to train and develop new talent.
We wish for more businesses to get involved with apprenticeship providers and take advantage of the apprenticeship levy, a training fund that all businesses over a certain wage bill must pay into. Even if businesses took on 3% of their workforce as apprentices, we could break that barrier of the gap in digital and tech businesses around diversity in the workforce.
If you’re interested in an apprenticeship or you’re an organisation interested in running an apprenticeship, drop us a note at transformation@transformuk.com.
