One of Chesterfield’s apprentices will be named as the town’s best at the 2018 Chesterfield Retail Awards next month.

Two retail apprentices have been shortlisted for the prestigious Apprentice of the Year award, sponsored by the Apprentice Town initiative led by Chesterfield Borough Council.

Jodie Tomlinson a hairdressing apprentice from The Lounge on Chatsworth Road, and Chloe Hall, an apprentice beauty therapist from The Therapy Lounge in Hasland, are both in the running for the brand new award after being nominated by their employers.

Jodie and Chloe will be recognised alongside more than 30 businesses from the town’s retail sector which have been shortlisted across 15 categories in Destination Chesterfield’s annual Retail Awards.

Both Jodie and Chloe are NVQ Level 2 apprentices and have impressed their employers with their enthusiasm for their job and the impact they are making on the businesses they work in.

Social media savvy, Jodie Tomlinson joined The Lounge after leaving Brookfield Community School last year and has ambitions to become a stylist following her apprenticeship. She is the ‘go to’ person for social media activity in the salon and her management of it has had a big impact on The Lounge, resulting in more publicity and an increase in business.

Delighted to be shortlisted Jodie (17) from Brampton said:-

“I was happy and surprised to learn I had been shortlisted for the award. I really enjoy my job, particularly styling and finishing people’s hair.”

Her boss, salon owner Rebecca Ward, added:-

“Jodie really deserves the recognition for all the hard work she puts in to make it in her hairdressing career.”

Fellow nominee and former Bolsover School pupil Chloe Hall (18) from Duckmanton, said:-

“I’m really enjoying my apprenticeship. I love being part of a team and doing the treatments. I really want to progress to a level 3 apprenticeship when I complete my level 2. It’s great how apprenticeships combine training and a wage – it’s what attracted me to doing one.”

Chloe’s boss and owner of The Therapy Lounge, Carly Smith praised her for her work as a salon assistant. Chloe is now starting to do her own treatments with clients and the growth in her confidence since starting her apprenticeship at The Therapy Lounge is reaping rewards for her customer service skills.

Carly added:-

“Chloe has put in a lot of work and effort to get up to speed. She has had to develop a lot of life skills since starting but her lovely personality has helped. We’re now confident Chloe will progress to Level 3 in September.

Alongside the Apprentice of the Year title, this year’s Chesterfield Retail Awards will also be honouring the town’s Apprentice Employer of the Year, sponsored by Learning Limited (The Chesterfield College Group).

Three businesses have been shortlisted for the Apprentice Employer of the Year award – Ashgate Hospicecare, Bliss Hair and Specsavers.

This is the first year that apprentices and apprentice employers have been recognised in the Chesterfield Retail Awards. The new awards are designed to recognise and commend the valuable contribution both apprentices and their employers make to Chesterfield’s retail scene.

Commenting on the decision to introduce the new categories to the Retail Awards line up, Councillor Amanda Serjeant, Vice Chair of Destination Chesterfield and deputy leader of Chesterfield Borough Council, said:-

“I am delighted we have been able to introduce the new categories in the Retail Awards. So many dedicated people work in the town’s retail sector and this is reflected in the high calibre of entrants we have in each category.

“It is great to see young people developing their skills and careers in the sector and also to recognise the many employers who are supporting them through apprenticeships.”

The winners of the Chesterfield Retail Awards will be announced on Wednesday 13 June at the fifth annual Chesterfield Retail Awards, being held at the Winding Wheel.

Other supporters of the 2018 Chesterfield Retail Awards include: Chesterfield Borough Council, Derbyshire Times, East Midlands Chamber, eBusiness Works, In the Works PR, JP Fire Safety, Peak FM, Jumble Creative Design, Temple Safety, The Pavements Shopping Centre and the University of Derby.

For more information about the awards including details of remaining sponsorship packages, visit www.chesterfield.co.uk/retailawards

Chesterfield financial planners Milestone Financial Planning has strengthened its team further with two new recruits – Joanne Taylor and Jake Bennett.

Joanne joins the team as a Technical Administrator bringing more than 20 years of experience in administration and office management to the role.  She has returned to an administration role and the UK after having lived in Egypt for seven years where she held the role of Assistant Spa Manager for seven years. Keen to be back with her family, Joanne returned to Chesterfield last year where she initially took up the role of receptionist at a local hotel.

Commenting on joining Milestone, Joanne said:-

“I’m delighted to be working with the fantastic team here at Milestone Financial Planning. They’ve made me feel very welcome. The company has great plans for the future – I’m excited to be a part of it all. I feel that I will be able to grow and develop within the company and I can’t wait to get my teeth stuck into something new.”

Joanne is joined by Jake Bennett (22), who has been appointed as a Business Administration Apprentice. The former Outwood Academy student has joined Milestone from Leeds Beckett University where he was studying Accounting and Finance. The prospect of earning while he learns, rather than building thousands of pounds of university debt, attracted Jake to the role.

He commented:-

“When I spoke to the guys at Milestone, the vision of the business just blew me away. This is such a fantastic opportunity for me to learn about the sector, gain qualifications and earn a wage with a great company.

“I hope to become a fully qualified financial adviser with Milestone in the future. I’m excited to really kickstart my apprenticeship and can’t wait to see what the future holds.”

Apprenticeships in Chesterfield are an excellent way of gaining qualifications whilst getting real life work experience and being paid for it – what better place to become an apprentice or find an apprentice than the UK’s first Apprentice Town.

Redbrik Estate Agents has strengthened their lettings team with a new negotiator and former apprentice in Chesterfield.

Alex Matthews, 21, has joined the company in their lettings office based on Glumangate in Chesterfield.

Alex started his property career when he completed an apprenticeship with Toseland Properties, gaining a range of industry experience. Apprenticeships in Chesterfield are an excellent way of gaining qualifications whilst getting real life work experience and being paid for it – what better place to become an apprentice or find an apprentice than the UK’s first Apprentice Town.

Alex then moved to Hunters, where he worked as a senior negotiator and gained a Level 3 in Residential Sales qualification. Nearly all apprentices feel that they acquire or improve their skills as a direct result of their apprenticeship. 89% of apprentices are satisfied with their apprenticeship; 97% of apprentices said their ability to do the job had improved, and 92% of apprentices said their career prospects had improved.

Alex said:-

“What drew me to Redbrik was their fantastic branding – they’re like the Apple of the estate agency world, modern and innovative.

“I’ve lived in Chesterfield all my life, so I know the area like the back of my hand and I’m looking forward to bringing my local knowledge to the role and developing my skillset with the company.”

Peter Lee, Director of Lettings at Redbrik, added:-

“As the lettings side of the business continues to grow, we are thrilled to bring Alex on board to help both landlords and tenants with all aspects of the renting process.

“He really understands the Redbrik philosophy and brings with him a wealth of industry experience, so I am certain he will play a key role in expanding our lettings portfolio.”

Chesterfield is the first town in the UK to declare itself an Apprentice Town – demonstrating its commitment to growing the future and careers of young people alongside business and the economy by retaining and developing young talent in the town in order to attract more employers to invest here.

On the run up to  the 11^th National Apprenticeship Week (#NAW2018) on 5-9 March, Chesterfield Champions, The UK Asbestos Training Association (UKATA) is celebrating the success of the scheme, as proof of this year’s theme of ‘Apprenticeships Work’

Chesterfield was named as the UK’s first official ‘Apprentice Town’ back in April 2017 and UKATA has supported the initiative from the start, recruiting several apprentices over the years to work in UKATA’s Markham Vale Headquarters. UKATA’s commitment to apprenticeships has a long history, with former Social Media apprentice Sasha Brailsford who started back in 2015, now promoted to Team Leader, overseeing the next generation of apprentices in the workplace.

“UKATA’s experience of apprenticeships has been overwhelmingly positive,” said UKATA General Manager Craig Evans. “We are proud of our involvement and would encourage other businesses to follow in our footsteps. A skilled workforce is essential and taking on apprentices is a great way to develop that, while providing a fantastic opportunity for young people to develop essential, practical skills on the job.”

In the wake of Sasha’s success, UKATA has three new apprentices; Max Floyde; Saffron Spencer and Leonie Hibberd, who started in October and November as Membership Assistants. All have begun their membership training and are showing tremendous aptitude when learning about the processes involved. As a former Derbyshire Times Business Person of the Year, Craig is keen to see SME’s in the region given the support and funding they need to develop, but also argues ahead of NAW2018 that those businesses that can, should back apprenticeships.

“What excites me is the potential here in Chesterfield for success and apprenticeships can form a big part of that,” added Craig. “Destination Chesterfield and the D2N2 project are still on track and there is still time for this to bring in new business and investment to the region. Our apprentices have excelled over the years and UKATA would not have continued taking on apprentices if the Association was not getting something positive out of it too,” added Craig. “There are some talented young people in Chesterfield who just need businesses willing to give them the opportunity to prove it.”

Renowned tea and coffee experts Ringtons is on the search for five new apprentices, including two in Chesterfield, for its traditional doorstep delivery service following the successful introduction of two recruits to its apprenticeship programme.

The family-business is looking for five enthusiastic, passionate and ambitious recruits to join the 110-year-old company under its new Customer Services Apprenticeship Programme.

The Ringtons Chesterfield office operates 20 vans which provide regular deliveries to over 19,000 customers in the area.

The Customer Services Apprentices will be responsible for helping keep the nation in its favourite tea, coffee and biscuits via the company’s traditional doorstep delivery service which caters to over 240,000 customers from 19 sites throughout the UK.  Duties of the apprenticeship role include supporting existing vans salespeople, making regular calls to local customers, providing excellent customer service, sales and stock management.

Jon Malton, Brand Director for Ringtons said: “Our new apprenticeship programme is the first we have offered in over 110 years of business and we are pleased to be in a position where we have found two successful new trainees and are able to look for even more.  Not only are we attracting enthusiastic, passionate, committed and endearing trainees, but putting our recruits through a Ringtons induction programme which covers all areas of the business gives them a solid background to build their own skills and are essential for their Customer Services Apprenticeships.

Daniel Gray (26) and Connor Keegan (20) are the first recruits to undertake Ringtons’ apprenticeships programme at the company’s biggest sales office in Tyne and Wear.  Speaking of the apprenticeship Connor Keegan said: “After a few years working in different jobs I saw the Ringtons apprenticeship as an opportunity to gain a more secure job with a steady income and to join a well-respected family business.  I really enjoy working outside, managing my own time, talking to the customers and learning about every element of the business, so this role really suits me and I would recommend it to those looking for all-round customer service experience.

Applicants are invited to apply for the Ringtons Customer Services Apprenticeships via the Government’s ‘Find an Apprenticeship’ website: https://www.findapprenticeship.service.gov.uk/apprenticeship/-230858