Source: theHRDIRECTOR
Date: May 2006

Kate Godwin-Tate, young people manager explains how Orange values apprenticeships as a key means of developing the skills it needs as a business.

At Orange we recruit a wide range of people from diverse backgrounds, with different experiences and skills. We have a ‘grow our own talent’ philosophy, ensuring that the high quality of our employees gives us a competitive advantage in the marketplace. Our apprenticeship programme is an integral part of this mix, giving our apprentices a better understanding of our business and encouraging greater initiative and self-management. Our graduate scheme is another initiative that forms a part of this philosophy.

The vast majority of our apprentices prepare for technical (IT and Telecoms) roles; however, the success of the scheme means that we intend to expand our apprenticeship programme into other areas of the business.

At Orange our apprentices are trained for real roles for which the company has a specific need. This means that our apprentices are working on interesting and current projects which help with their development and growth, and we get highly trained and motivated staff to meet our business needs.

"I can carry on learning new skills but am actually out there getting my hands dirty rather than being stuck in a classroom"

This year, for example, we have seen the scheme deliver its first ex-apprentice (James Harvey) to team leader. His accelerated promotion was a direct result of the development of James’s softer skills through completion of six key competencies throughout his apprenticeship. We also have several apprentices who have completed the scheme and are now moving up to senior engineering and management roles.

To us this development of talent shows that the programme is working. Two examples of people who have entered the apprenticeship programme at different points in their careers, are Dan Lunny and John Vickery.

Dan finished a foundation degree in science at UWE University and decided that, whilst he wanted to continue learning, he also wanted to experience the world of work: “When I saw Orange were looking for apprentices I knew it would be a chance to work with the best technology and keep on developing my skills,” he explains. “I work on the central operations scheme as a technical apprentice. It’s a 22 month long programme and, for the first 12 months, you go from placement to placement to find out how the whole thing works from a technical perspective. I’m now working at the Technology Management Centre (TMC) where we monitor the delivery of our products and respond to any problems we’re having.”

"I took the initiative and showed the other apprentices my system for getting through the scheme"

Having the best of both worlds is the thing that he likes most about the scheme: “I can carry on learning new skills but am actually out there getting my hands dirty rather than being stuck in a classroom. Also, Orange is a young, innovative company so it’s a ‘cool’ place to be working. I really see my training helping my career, and by the end of the scheme I will have a technical qualification and a certificate of apprenticeship. This will give me the foundation to keep on developing within the company and really reach my potential.”

John Vickery moved straight into work after leaving school, but found that data input jobs left him feeling unmotivated and lacking in direction. He decided he had made a mistake in his career choice and applied for a place on the Orange apprenticeship scheme. John completed his three year training plan ahead of every other apprentice in the country but, upon completion, decided that there was even more he could do: “I took the initiative and showed the other apprentices my system for getting through the scheme. Following this demonstration of my capabilities, I was invited to help draft the review of the Orange training plan. Whilst there is a regular review of the plan, I am the only apprentice ever to have been asked to contribute to it.”

John’s work was exemplary and demonstrated both his maturity and intelligence, which underscored the reason why he was offered this special role. He is now an engineer, having been put forward for the required interview six months early, which is another first in the history of the Orange apprenticeship programme. “I really am delighted with this achievement because I can finally give something back to the scheme that has
given so much to me,” John explains.