Automotive 30% Club member Burrows Motor Company “Reach Out” with inclusive apprentice recruitment programme
Automotive 30% Club member Burrows Motor Company is searching for stars for their Apprentice Recruitment Programme in schools in North and South Yorkshire and Nottinghamshire.
The ‘Search for a Star’ programme, designed and managed by Gaia Innovation Ltd, is now in its fourth year of collaboration with Burrows Motor Company. A local family-owned dealer group, Burrows is a socially responsible employer which aims to support its community by developing and hiring young apprentices to join the automotive industry from local schools. The programme positions Burrows as an employer of choice in their community by providing careers talks, employer open days, employability skills training and work experience placements for local school pupils.
This industry-leading programme ensures that the next generation of motor trade employees are fully informed of the career opportunities available to them locally and helps them to gain an understanding of what it would be like to work in a dealership, whilst getting to know Burrows as a company and their family of employees. Burrows wants young people to see that the automotive industry is an exciting diverse sector to work in and aim to employ young people who are eager to learn and develop new skills in order to have a more diverse workforce which includes a better gender balance.
The Search for a Star programme is broken down into five stages:
School Outreach – The Gaia Innovation team reach out and speak to pupils about Toyota GB or Mazda UK and the exciting job opportunities within the automotive industry, as a sector that is at the very heart of the 4th Industrial Revolution. The team speak specifically about Burrows Motor Company as a local employer of choice and introduce the ‘Search for a Star’ programme. They are joined by a Burrows apprentice, who give pupils insight into day-to-day working life at Burrows.
Dealership Open Evenings– These evenings are an opportunity for pupils and parents/carers to find out more about working in a dealership, hear about apprenticeship opportunities, meet the Burrows Team and Directors, and hear from Toyota Academy or Mazda Academy personnel.
Employability Skills Training Days– These training days focus on interview skills and techniques, in order to prepare candidates for an interview with a member of the Burrows management team which follows later on in the day.
Work Experience Placements– This is a chance for pupils in the local area to experience a week in the life of a Burrows apprentice, and gain a reference from the company.
Job Offers– Successful applicants will be offered an apprenticeship at Burrows starting in September 2020.
These stages allow Burrows to select the most appropriate candidates, in order to create a diverse talent pool.
Burrows Motor Company is an inclusive employer and member of the Automotive 30% Club and so is aiming to sustain a great working environment by having a better gender balance, and is encouraging applications from both young women and men. 11 of the 33 apprentices (33%) recruited since the programme began are female, and the Burrows team hope more will recognise the motor trade as a great career with many opportunities for promotion. Indeed, the stars recruited in the first year of the Search for a Star programme have now completed their apprenticeship training and have gone on to pursue a successful career with Burrows as full-time employees, with great career prospects.
The search for stars of 2020 is well underway, with Phase One of the programme (School Outreach) due to draw to a close in January of next year. The Automotive 30% Club looks forward to watching the stars of 2019 grow into their current roles, as Burrows begins the journey to welcome the stars of 2020.
Should you be interested in finding out more about the Search for a Star programme please contact sophie@gaiainnovation.com, or alternatively, if you know of any youngsters who may wish to apply for the 2020 cohort please allow them to register interest now at gaiainnovation.com/S4AS/.
