Leading Gloucestershire employer, aerospace firm Ontic, who employ almost 650 people across Cheltenham and Gloucester, are celebrating their win at the national Apprenticeship Guide Awards 2024 two weeks ago [Friday 10 May].
Winning Best Apprenticeship in Manufacturing & Engineering, the local company beat the likes of national giants, EDF Energy and Molson Coors Beverage Company (who manage household beverage brands Coors, Grolsch and Fosters, among others).
With judges commenting on their supportive and holistic approach to apprenticeship training, the Ontic team couldn’t be prouder. Rob Grey, Learning & Development Partner at Ontic, said: “The whole team is ecstatic with this win – although we feel really proud of our apprenticeship programme internally - and receive great feedback from the apprentices themselves - we never expected to win this national award against some of the massive names we were finalists with.
“The apprenticeship programme is a major part of Ontic’s futureproofing so we make sure to invest in great training, as well as supporting our apprentices to become well-rounded and healthy people that enjoy their work. The fact this has been recognised at this level is a proud moment for us all.”
In addition to winning this category, Ontic were also finalists for Best Employer (medium-sized business) and one of their apprentices, Joshua Netherton, was a finalist in the Apprentice of the Year category.
Ontic’s apprenticeship programmes offer more than a technical education. Through their Life Essentials Project, apprentices are supported to learn skills such as cooking, basic home maintenance, and age-appropriate financial planning. This is particularly useful for Ontic’s apprentices who have just left school but their mature apprentices also give great feedback on the pastoral programme.
In further support of their apprentices and the local community, Ontic recently launched their Care Leavers Bursary to help support young people previously in care to become apprentices. Read more here.
Applications for Ontic’s September 2024 apprentice intake have now closed following their highest number of applications ever. They will start recruiting again for the September 2025 intake later this year. Follow them on social media to be notified when applications open (LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter).
