Celebrating National Apprenticeship Week 2024

At YPO, we pride ourselves on our challenging but rewarding apprenticeship scheme. Our apprenticeships offer routes into a range of different career options, offering hands-on industry experience alongside classroom learning. Train towards a paid accreditation whilst gaining practical experience within the workplace. Our apprenticeship scheme offers a range of benefits, but who better to hear about this great opportunity than our past and present apprentices themselves? As part of National Apprenticeship Week 2024, we’ve collected their comments and feedback.

YPO is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year and so far, we have welcomed 104 apprentices through our doors. We have 19 current apprentices, and of the remaining 85, 73% of them have gone on to secure permanent positions at YPO.

You can read more about what our apprentices have to say below. 

We are starting with Jack Appleton who started with us through our first apprenticeship opportunity in 2011: 

“YPO is a great company that allowed me the opportunity to start a career straight from school 13 years ago. The apprenticeship program at YPO is something to be proud of and is something I owe a lot to.” Jack Appleton – Category Buyer Furniture

“I am enjoying everything so far! Learning new skills and having access to new opportunities. I’m looking forward to progressing further and advancing my knowledge and abilities along the way.”  Amber Crossland – Business Admin Apprentice

“I started in the role of Business Admin Apprentice over 10 and a half years ago, two weeks before my 18th birthday! I started in the Business Services team (we were Business Support then) and am still in the same team now all these years later. I’ve worked my way up to become the Senior Business Services Officer.

I’ve learnt so much along the way & worked with some great people. A lot has changed since I started but it’s great to see YPO continue to do so well in its 50th year, and I’m excited to see how things continue to progress. “ Ellie Gerrard – Senior Business Services Officer

“Everyone on my team has been so welcoming, so much so that it feels like I’ve always worked at YPO!” Oliver Staniforth – Data Technician Apprentice 

“I started YPO as an apprentice in 2018 and after a year and a half, I was fortunate enough to secure a role in the marketing team as a marketing and digital assistant. Being an apprentice allowed me to discover what area of the business I enjoyed the most, with endless opportunities to learn and develop my career.

The support I’ve received throughout my journey at YPO has been fantastic, everyone is treated equally, and hard work never goes unnoticed. I couldn’t have chosen a better place to start my career!” Amelia Wilks, Marketing & Digital Assistant

“I started my career with YPO in August 2021 as a Level 3 business administration apprentice within the trading team. After 8 months I had the opportunity to progress into a permanent role as an assistant category buyer for stationery. I have now completed my apprenticeship and since September have been working towards a level 4 CIPS qualification. So far, my journey has been amazing, and I have felt supported by my manager, trading team and YPO. I look forward to continuing to progress my career with YPO.” Adeela Afzal – Assistant Category Buyer - Stationery
 
“My apprenticeship at YPO provided me with a brilliant introduction to the world of work. I left school without a clue as to what I wanted to do for a career, fast forward 12 years and I am in a job I love and a career I had never even heard of when I left school and without my apprenticeship, I don’t think this would’ve been possible.” Daniel Holt – Category Buyer Stationery 

“I started as a business administration apprentice at YPO in 2017. After a year in the business, I became interested in working in the marketing department and began gaining experience in the communications team. I secured my permanent position in the marketing team as a communications assistant in 2019 and my current position as a content marketing officer in 2022. The experience I gained as an apprentice was vital as it helped me understand the career path I wanted to take, and I will forever be grateful for the opportunities it brought to me.” Heidi Winter – Content Marketing Officer

“My journey at YPO has been incredible. This year will mark my 12th year at YPO, and I can honestly say the time has gone so quickly – they do say time flies when you’re having fun!

I started my journey at YPO as the Health and Safety Apprentice in 2012 within the HR team and after a year and a half I was fortunate enough to secure a role within the contracts team a year later I applied for a role in the marketing team as a communications officer in 2015. A few years on I’ve found myself lucky enough to have climbed the ladder in YPO and I’m now the PR and Communications Manager.

 Being an apprentice at YPO gave me the confidence and the ability to meet new people at all levels, it gave me the knowledge, skills and experience needed to future-proof my career. The support I received throughout my journey at YPO has been incredible, I’m so glad I chose an apprenticeship at YPO over the full-time university.”  Rhian Binns – PR and Communications Manager - Education

“I started at YPO in July 2017 as a Business Admin Apprentice in the HR Team. Six and a half years later, I’m now an HR Project Support Officer aiming to streamline HR processes and increase digitalisation within the team.”  Kelsi Barrick – HR Project Support Officer