Apprenticeship Week
As this week is
National Apprenticeship Week, we thought that we’d chat to Jane about the pro’s
and con’s (if there are any!) of having apprentices working at Jonny’s Sister
and apprenticeships in general.
As
2015 is Jonny’s Sister’s 10th birthday, we have decided to fire Jane
10 questions, to be answered in 10 minutes, about apprentices within the
business...
What made you want to
employ an apprentice, back in 2012?
Hannah came to work on a temporary basis when she decided
that college wasn’t for her in 2012; she wanted to achieve a further qualification,
which then made me look into apprentices. A friend of mine had previously
employed apprentices, who then explained the benefits. Hannah started her
business apprenticeship, and then soon after Shannon came along!
What have been the
benefits?
There are too many to list! It’s what they bring to the
table; they bring a can-do approach to the work place, with a desire to learn.
My experience with apprentices has always been that they are enthusiastic,
inquisitive and tend to ask a lot of questions.
Do you think that
having apprentices has had an impact upon the running of Jonny’s Sister today?
Would it be different if you hadn’t had any apprentices?
Definitely! Jonny’s Sister has a very youthful feel about it.
The day to day running is always fun and having younger staff alerts me to
themes and trends that otherwise I may not have been aware of.
What does an
apprentice bring to Jonny’s Sister that somebody otherwise qualified may not?
Apprentices come with zero baggage. They have a can-do
approach and a desire to learn; they also have a fresh pair of eyes which is
always good.
How do you know if
somebody is right for the job - Are they ‘JS material’?
Jonny’s Sister is a small, family run business, which means
there is no option other than to fit in. There’s no room for cliques or hiding,
everybody must be 100% open with one another. Passion is very important too;
they must enjoy their job and come in with a smile on their face in the morning!
What would you say to
an employer considering hiring an apprentice?
Treat everybody the same. If you get the right apprentice in
the right job it’s a win-win situation. Apprentices have come a long way since
the ‘tinkering under cars’ type; there are so many more opportunities today.
When somebody is an
apprentice, do you think about future job roles? Do you consider an area they
can move into rather than a general position?
At Jonny’s Sister we try and expose each person to all areas
of the business; it soon becomes apparent which areas they excel in and those
are the areas that they tend to end up in. I am a strong believer in enhancing
strengths opposed to improving upon weaknesses.
When referring to not
only apprentices, but employees in general, how do you know when it’s time for
them to move on?
We have a rule here at Jonny’s Sister; when you’ve stopped
learning, it’s time to move on - this applies to me too! Although I’m always
sad to see people go, I always feel proud to see them move on to pastures new
taking with them all the things that they have learnt here.
If you could use one
word to describe your feelings towards your apprentices, what would it be?
Proud.
And finally, what has
been your most memorable apprentice moment? Think wisely!
Each apprentice has given me their own memorable moment so I
could not possibly list them all!
The show started
at 10am each day and we were surrounded by such lovely people, the
highlight has to be having a food stand opposite us that also sold prosecco,
strawberries and cream! What a bonus! 
