High Force Research
Jane Klotz, HR Manager
HOW APPRENTICESHIPS HELP SMEs TO EXPAND THEIR SKILLED WORKFORCE
Meet Jane Klotz, an HR Manager at High Force Research, as she shares their experience with our degree apprenticeship programmes as a Small and Medium Enterprise (SME). They strategically use degree apprenticeships to invest in their in-house talent, facilitate continuous professional development, retain staff, and expand their workforce.
THE PARTNERSHIP WITH MANCHESTER MET
Apprenticeship recruitment has been part of the strategic people planning at High Force Research for a number of years and we’ve been working with Manchester Met since 2021 to deliver the Laboratory Science (Chemical Science) Degree Apprenticeship training. In that time, we’ve had over 128 degree apprentice applications and recruited five apprentices.
We have two guiding principles when recruiting degree apprentices: to provide skilled local employment, and to give those young people who are looking for an alternative higher education and career path another route into our industry.
The structure of the Laboratory Science (Chemical) degree apprenticeship is practical, it’s accessible, and the support that apprentices receive from Manchester Met is exceptional.
PROMOTING WORKPLACE EQUITY
We’re a small company with 56 employees and of that, 9% are current or former apprentices. Our Chief Technical Officer, Stuart Penny, is a huge advocate of apprenticeships given that was the route that he took into industry, completing an HND and a degree through part-time study before founding High Force Research.
Young people now are realising the benefit of earning while they learn without the burden of student debt, of being able to live at home, and they see a degree apprenticeship as a sensible economic decision.
Another factor in their decision making is the style of learning, as they find that working alongside studying embeds the knowledge and skills.
Our current apprentices are all from the North East, some coming from former mining and industrial communities, and in some cases, our apprentices are the first in their families to study post-GCSE qualifications and attend university.
I was delighted when I joined the organisation and saw what a positive approach there was to give young people from the local area an opportunity to take a different route into our industry and earn a degree in the process.
INCREASING PRODUCTIVITY
Our apprentices are embedded into the business from day one, and the big benefit for us is how productive they are right from the beginning of their apprenticeship journey.
They hit the ground running and throughout their time at HFR, they have helped to streamline manufacturing processes, make efficiencies, and introduce new quality controls and risk management procedures.
The Degree apprenticeship programmes are enabling us to invest in our employees, offer continual professional development, retain staff, and expand our workforce.
Additionally, two of our apprentices, as part of their final year projects, have directly contributed to customer-based research and development projects, which allowed for the progression of these projects for our customers.
BENEFITS FOR EMPLOYERS AND EMPLOYEES
This makes degree apprenticeships a win-win for High Force Research; each apprentice costs us less than a graduate, but we’re growing our own talent, mentoring them in our business processes and in turn they are delivering for us and our customers.
Our commitment to their development is paid back by their commitment to our business.
For example, two of our recent graduate apprentices have been placed on accelerated pathways. One of them is Charlie Ellison, who has been placed on a Future Leader trajectory whilst Jude Humphrey, the second Laboratory Scientist Apprentice, is working alongside the R&D team mostly made up of staff with PhDs, assisting in the development of analytical procedures.