Civil and structural engineering company BSP Consulting has taken on its third apprentice administration assistant, who follows in the footsteps of two colleagues who have since climbed the career ladder after being hired as apprentices themselves.
Twenty-year-old Simran Gangarh is the latest recruit to join the firm’s head office in Oxford Street, Nottingham – arriving just ahead of the 10th National Apprenticeship Week, which this year has the theme of ‘ladder of opportunity’.
“It’s rather appropriate that the theme of this year’s National Apprenticeship Week is ‘ladder of opportunity’ as BSP Consulting has just employed the company’s third apprentice administration assistant, with the previous two apprentice admin assistants having progressed their careers within the firm,” said BSP business development director Jef Todd.
“In the 1980s, I was a former candidate of the Youth Training Scheme – a scheme for helping 16 and 17-year-olds into employment – and I am a firm believer in training and apprenticeship schemes.
“We’re very pleased to welcome Simran to BSP and hope she will enjoy working alongside Katie and Hannah, who were our first and second apprentices.”
Katie White joined BSP in 2012 as a 19-year-old apprentice and completed level 2 in Business Administration. She was then taken on by BSP and subsequently completed level 2 in AAT, an accounting qualification, followed by level 3. She is now office manager.
Hannah Rawson joined BSP in August 2013 as a 17-year-old apprentice, completing level two and level 3 in Business Administration, and was also taken on after a year of working as an apprentice. She is now administration assistant at the company, which has offices in Nottingham, Derby and Leicester.
Simran, who lives in Derby, will study at New College Nottingham (ncn), as well as working at BSP Consulting, while she undertakes her level 2 in Business Administration.
She said: “After leaving school and then taking my A-levels at college, I thought an apprenticeship was a better opportunity for me because I didn’t have a particular course in mind and I didn’t want to spend three or four years on a course at university and come out not wanting to do it any more.
“When I saw the job description for this position at BSP Consulting it seemed like there was room for progression within the company, which is what I was looking for.”
Jenny Clarke, ncn b2b sales, recruitment and work experience manager, said: “Katie’s story shows just how careers can evolve from an apprenticeship. Katie started her apprenticeship at BSP in 2013 and has progressed through her career to now become the office manager there. We are delighted that Katie and BSP have chosen to return to ncn to support and grow the team’s future talent by taking on further apprentices. In placing Katie, Hannah, and now Simran, we are proud to continue to build on the excellent working relationship that we have developed with BSP over recent years.”
National Apprenticeship Week is designed to celebrate the positive impact apprenticeships and traineeships have on individuals, businesses and the economy, and runs from 6th to 10th March 2017.
BSP Consulting provides a comprehensive range of consultancy services in civil, structural, geotechnical, transportation and environmental engineering to all sectors of the construction community, from architects, project managers and contractors to developers and estate agents. It was founded in 1999 and operates across the UK.
Its Derby office is based at Pride Park, and its Leicester office recently expanded by moving to larger premises on the floor above in the building it has occupied in De Montfort Street since 2007.
