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Lafarge are one of a growing number offorward-thinking firms focusing on atraditional system to foster new talent.

The aggregates and concrete arm of thebusiness in the UK, based in Syston, Leicester,is using apprenticeship schemes to bring innew blood.Last year, after a 24-month lull due to the

recession, Lafarge Aggregates & Concrete UK(LACUK) took on 13 new apprentices, bringingthe number of apprentices enrolled sincethe inception of the current scheme to 100. Thenew recruits, mostly straight out of school,filled roles in areas including businessadministration, production and mechanical andelectrical engineering.Chris Thompson, LACUK’s human

resources advisor for aggregates, said:‘Employee development is a priority forLafarge. We believe that to have a trulysustainable business we need strongsuccession planning and employees with theright capabilities to take on greater

You’re Hired!How Lafarge are using apprenticeship schemes to bring in new blood

responsibilities when opportunities arise.‘Apprenticeships are one of the best ways

for us to develop fresh talent, with candidateslearning the ropes from experienced mentorsbut also improving their academicqualifications. These are truly modernindustrial apprenticeships offering newcomersthe chance to gain a broad range of bothpractical and theoretical skills.’Britain has a long history of apprenticeships

stretching back to the guilds of the MiddleAges.In 1583 the system became more prescribed

and regulated with the Elizabethan Statue ofArtificers setting out terms and conditions fortraining. It took more than 200 years beforefurther significant legislation came into effectwith the Health and Morals of Apprentices Act1802, which provided for a 12h day and arequirement that factory apprentices weretaught reading, writing and arithmetic.More recently, towards the end of the last

century, the popularity of apprenticeships

declined with the scheme labelled as archaic,male-dominated and ineffective. Governmentintervention ranged from a levy-fundedprogramme to no support at all until 1993when, due to concerns about skills shortages,plans for Modern Apprenticeships wereunveiled.Today, under the auspices of the National

Apprenticeship Service (NAS), established in2008, apprenticeship programmes are seen bycandidates as a valuable way to earn and learnwhile they work, and by employers as a way toprovide the skilled workers they need for thefuture. Anyone aged 16 or over can apply tobecome an apprentice but those over the ageof 19 do not get 100% funding from NAS, whichmeans the majority of apprentices tend to beolder teenagers.LACUK had run apprenticeship schemes

over the years but it was not until 2001 thatbosses started looking into launching a morestructured apprenticeship programmecovering the whole aggregates sector. They �

recognized that the demographic of theworkforce, particularly at operational sites,was mainly above 40 and there was a dearthof young, fresh talent coming through theranks.However, they also realized that there was

a huge resource of experience and knowledgewithin the existing, long-serving workforce thatcould readily be utilized to develop newstarters. There was also a recognition that asa company committed to supporting itsneighbouring communities, offering local jobopportunities to local people was the rightaction to take.The first new-style apprentice programme

ran in 2003 with a varied number of positionsopen each year since then depending onorganizational need and suitability of therole. Of the 87 apprentices enrolled between2003 and 2008, 63 completed the two-yearprogramme and 52 have remained at Lafarge.Generally, apprentices are taken on at the ageof 16 or 17, with a few already having someexperience of work or having undertakencollege courses.‘Each year we ask our managers whether

they have a vacancy for an apprentice and thenwe look at the suitability of the prospectiveposition,’ explained Chris Thompson. ‘Therehas to be enough work for them to do relativeto their age, the job and the site. We’re notinterested in bringing people in just to sweepthe floor or make the tea; this is a schemewhere the apprentice is part of the teamright from the start, with real tasks to do andreal responsibility.’The programme runs for two years with day-

release studies leading to NVQ qualificationsat a college local to the apprentice. Lafarge,who have around 1,400 employees across theUK, work closely with Loughborough Collegein creating the programmes and identifyingrelevant courses.College advisor Mike Manns is instrumental

in organizing the educational element of theprogramme and he undertakes regularapprentice study reviews alongside ChrisThompson, who carries out job-specificchecks. Success rates are high and everyapprentice who has completed the two-yearprogramme has been taken on full-time.If candidates show significant promise and

a suitable vacancy crops up, they may even betaken on full-time before the two years is up.Further opportunities for study and personaland professional development are alsoavailable once the apprentice is employed.Mr Thompson said: ‘We are proud of our

record with the number of apprentices whoqualify, are taken on as staff and who stay withthe company, but obviously there is some levelof drop-out. At operational sites you tend to findif they make it through the first winter they arehere to stay. Unfortunately, some apprenticesget put off by the outdoor element of workingat a quarry in inclement weather. There’s notan awful lot we can do about that.’ Last year apprenticeships were offered in

the areas of business administration,production and mechanical and electrical

engineering. With 13 apprenticeships, thenumber for 2011 more than tripled from theprevious year’s intake of just two – a mark ofincreased optimism in economic growth andthe need to boost supporting roles across thecompany.LACUK are among 90,000 employers

offering apprenticeships at a time of massyouth unemployment. Figures show thataround one in five young people aged between16 and 24 are out of work – one of the highestfigures since these data were first recorded in1992.Lewis Taylor (aged 20), from Loughborough,

was among four apprentices who joined in2008, securing an electrician’s position atMountsorrel Quarry. He had already spent ayear at college studying electrical installationbut was eager to get into work so begansending his CV to companies seekingapprentices. With youth unemployment runningat alarming levels and fierce competition forapprenticeships, he was hopeful but notconvinced he would strike lucky. But theknowledge he had already gained and hisenthusiasm stood him in good stead.

‘Lafarge got back to me pretty much straightaway and invited me along for an interview,’he said. ‘I had my interview on a Friday andabout an hour after I’d left I got a phone callsaying the apprenticeship was mine.’The teenager was quickly welcomed into the

team and started work under the supervisionof electrical assistant manager Simon Munday,himself a former apprentice taken on underan older scheme 12 years ago.It was an enormous change for Mr Taylor

coming face to face with the industrial intricacyof Mountsorrel’s plant compared to learningabout domestic electrical systems at college.‘The college course was a good grounding

but I didn’t realize how different the work wouldbe to what I’d been used to,’ he said. ‘There wefocused on domestic electrics but obviously atMountsorrel it is more complex and industrial,with motors, conveyors and lots of high-voltage equipment.‘It was obvious right away that the role

carried quite a lot of responsibility. If somethinggoes wrong with a motor or conveyor it needsto be corrected as quickly, but also as safely,as possible. Hold-ups can have a major

16 www.Agg-Net.com April 2012

Electrical assistant manager Simon Munday (left) with apprentice electrician Lewis Taylor

Training & Apprenticeships

impact on production and that can have amajor impact on the business.‘But the safety element was stressed at all

times. I was told no task was worth putting my

health in danger and it really impressed methat the commitment to health and safety wasso ingrained and such a priority for thebusiness.’

Mr Taylor was also encouraged by thescope for progression within the company –taking his boss, Simon Munday, as a primeexample. Although the apprentice schemehe joined differed from the more modernversion, it still allowed for further trainingand career development.Also a Loughborough local, even attending

the same schools as Lewis Taylor, 32-year-old Simon Munday has risen through theranks, gaining both an HNC qualification anda degree in electrical engineering during hisdecade or so with the company.Mr Munday said: ‘If you think you can do

it and show ambition, Lafarge will supportyou. It was clear to me, the same as it hasbeen for Lewis, that if you wanted toprogress the backing would be there.‘When I left school I actually wanted to be

an accountant but I didn’t have any luck withmy applications so I turned to electricalengineering with no experience orknowledge of the subject at all. I don’tregret making that choice though, and thanks to Lafarge I’ve improved myacademic credentials while also achievinga position of responsibility within theorganization.‘It proves that apprenticeships are worth

it, and that you don’t have to get hands onwith rocks and sand to carve out a successfulcareer with a quarrying company.’ QM

April 2012 www.Agg-Net.com 17

Lewis Taylor learning his trade under the watchful eye of Simon Munday

The intricacy of Mountsorrel’s eletrical systems means the apprentice’s role carries a lot of responsibility