Continuous development is something which has had a huge impact on my personal growth, and on the business.

- Craig Jones

Energy Gain UK is a long-term employer partner of the university. They specialise in the design, supply, installation and maintenance of the latest renewable generation systems in the market along with carbon consultancy services.

Managing Director, Craig, was an MBA apprentice (now Senior Leader PgDip Apprenticeship) at Manchester Met from 2020 – 2022, and has just enrolled a Digital Marketer degree apprentice to begin in September 2023.

Craig started on Manchester Met’s SME business high growth programmes Knowledge Action Network (KAN), Goldman Sachs’ 10,000 Small Businesses programme, as well as the University’sFuel Cell Innovation Centre programme. He has also been working on a Knowledge Transfer Partnership.

We spoke to him about his experiences and the impact our programmes have had on his career and on his business. 

What drove you to take part in Manchester Met’s Knowledge Action Network and their 10,000 Small Businesses programme in partnership with Goldman Sachs?

In 2012, I joined the Knowledge Action Network (KAN) to get out of my comfort zone. Fresh out of university, I was the youngest in a business including my father and two brothers. I had previously completed a Business Modelling and Management Degree and a Masters degree in Real Estate and Property Management.

The KAN was exactly what I needed. We shared issues as part of a small group and then worked collaboratively to solve those issues together. Everyone had similar problems surrounding finance, marketing, growth, sales, etc., although we all operated in different sectors. It was all about learning best practise.

In 2014, I joined the 10,000 Small Businesses programme with Goldman Sachs and Manchester Met. This was almost a mini MBA. I was in a classroom with my peers, all from SMEs. Again, all sharing very similar problems and working through them together. All the while, gaining a good educational grounding and tips for best practice.

What did these additional courses give you that your degrees hadn’t?

Unlike my classroom-based degrees, these courses were more about networking and being immersed in real-world scenarios. They helped me develop my confidence and communication skills. Getting up in front of people is a hard skill to learn, if you’re not put into those situations. Conquering the nerves that arise when addressing a room full of people was a personal goal. Stepping beyond my comfort zone and meeting people outside of my business was really good for me.

What level were you at in the business when you undertook these courses?

I was a Director, but as it was a small family business. Looking back, my role was similar to a backroom operations manager while my father was the Managing Director. 

Although those courses gave me a good grounding, I still felt like there was a gap in my CV. I found when I was talking to people about finance, I only really had a low-level understanding of things like balance sheets and P&L accounts.

To bridge these gaps, I undertook a Corporate Finance qualification and an Advanced Energy Manager course both at Level 4. Then the MBA Apprenticeship came along in 2020.

Continuous development is something which has had a huge imact on my personal growth, and on the business.

How did you come across the MBA Apprenticeship (now the Senior Leader PgDip Apprenticeship)?

I heard about it through the Growth Hub, which is part of The Growth Company. They suggested as my CV was full of short training courses, that I could benefit from a full MBA.

It was a bit of a crazy time to be doing it. I had a three-year-old daughter and a baby on the way, and then a few months in, Covid hit. But the business was changing and growing rapidly. In 2019, we’d sold 70% of our share capital to a Middle Eastern company.

They decided a shuffle was required in the management team. I was promoted to the role of Managing Director. The Business went from strength to strength from there. We grew from an annual revenue of one million to five million pounds in two years.

You must have really believed the MBA Apprenticeship would support you through those big business changes?

The MBA Apprenticeship was brilliant because everything was implemented into the business. If you’re doing an assignment on marketing, you’re focussing on marketing in your business. As I was running an SME, if I decide something, it can be implemented very quickly. Or if I need information from another department, they can provide it to me very fast. It must be different in larger organisations.

I was on the course with a whole range of people from different types of organisations. I definitely felt imposter syndrome – what am I doing in this room with all these people, these big organisations? But it was just what I needed.

Energy Gain have gone from dealing with small domestic clients to being in board rooms with Directors from Goodwin PLC, Siemens, Eurocell, etc. It’s a steep learning curve and it’s something you can’t really learn at a traditional university. It comes from things like the Knowledge Action Group, or the Apprenticeship, where you’re put into positions where you have to sit in front of people and talk.

We find that with graduates – their work is brilliant but when we put them in front of clients, they lack experience and unfortunately it is a steep learning curve on the job.

I’m looking at a doctorate now because I think you should never stop learning. Courses like this have got me to where I am now, so how do I push on? How do I keep going?

I encourage everyone within my organisation to continue their education and training. If they don’t, they may fall behind and ultimately have a negative impact on the success of Energy Gain. I believe everybody likes to learn and failing to invest in employees will only lead to high staff turnover, in a market where recruitment is extremely difficult.

It sounds like all these courses have had a big impact on you and the business?

I think the proof is in the pudding. In the last three years the growth has been £1.3 million, then £3.3million and £5.7 million. This year we’re aiming to achieve £6.5 million or even £7 million, and we’re just getting started. The net assets of the organisation have grown to £2million plus, including the cash purchase of a brand new headquarters located in the heart of Trafford Park. So for me personally, a shareholder and a board member, the courses had an extremely positive impact.

I don’t think I could have done it without the MBA, or the other courses. I wouldn’t be here because I wouldn’t know how to do these things. I wouldn’t understand how to grow the business. I wouldn’t have had the confidence. Now, I fly back and forth between here and our partners in the Middle East. Going back five years, I would never have been confident enough to do that.

What about the decision to work with the company in Saudia Arabia to begin with – was that your idea?

In 2019, I actually resigned as a Director of Energy Gain, wanting to branch out on my own. As I was packing up the office, I took a call from a Middle Eastern gentlemen. He said he worked for a billion-dollar company, he’d seen our website and they were looking for a strategic partner in the UK. He requested some documents and set up a meeting. I went along with it, but I didn’t really believe it.

The date came and I went back into the office for this one meeting. I really wasn’t taking it seriously, I didn’t even wear a shirt.

And then they turned up in a Rolls Royce.

I said I was really embarrassed, that I thought it was a joke and we had a good laugh about it. Two and a half years and lots of due diligence later, they bought a 70% share of our capital.

So you would recommend apprenticeships to others?

Absolutely. It’s brilliant. We’re just enrolling someone onto the Digital Marketer Degree Apprenticeship, starting in September 2023. I’m looking at putting my Operations Manager onto a business one, and I’ve got another employee who would love to do the MBA like I did.

We were looking for marketing qualifications for one of our administrators and we came across the apprenticeship. It was perfect. It’s four years, which is a long time, but it offers a degree level qualification and ensures commitment from both sides for the duration of the course.

Have apprenticeships been easy to implement?

Yes, really easy. Everyone was on board. As an apprentice, working at an SME is hugely beneficial. If you’re working on a project on one area of the business, it’s easy to implement changes or make suggestions based on what you’re working on, or what you’ve learned.

Apart from the time apprentices need to take out for study, there really are no down sides. As long as you’re willing to give them that time it’ll be absolutely worthwhile.

It doesn’t really cost you anything. It’s a free qualification. Your employees are going to get all this information they can bring back into the business to enhance your business.

I suppose it’s a bit of a risk because we’re backing somebody to learn rather than taking on someone who’s already got that training, but they’ll be learning inside Energy Gain. That’s the best way of doing it really. If you hire someone who’s come from somewhere else, you don’t know what habits they’ve got and they don’t have that knowledge of the business. If you can bring someone through the qualification as an employee, there’s no better way of doing it.

Find out more about our courses.

Find out more about implementing degree apprenticeships at your organisation.