Ebsford Environmental Ltd has been honoured at the National Apprenticeship Awards following our regional success at Octobers North East, Yorkshire and Humber event.
Ebsford were invited to the National Apprentice Awards ceremony held at the London Grosvenor Hotel. We were extremely proud to be announced as the winners against some other great employers. The award was presented to us in recognition of our commitment to developing young people through apprenticeships.
We have also been named in the prestigious Top 100 Apprenticeship Employer list. This is compiled annually by the National Apprenticeship Service and recognises excellence in businesses that employ apprentices.
Having begun our apprentice program in 2011, seven of our 29 staff are or have been apprentices in the business occupying roles within marketing, customer services, administration and environmental conservation.
We are very proud of our achievement, it is great reward for the dedication our apprentices have shown and for the commitment we have made to nurturing all our employees. We look forward to further developing our apprentice and graduate schemes as the business continues to grow.
On accepting the award, Nick Hartley, Managing Director, Ebsford Environmental Ltd, says: “We started offering apprenticeships shortly after we set up the business in 2011 and so far we have a 100% retention rate. Offering apprenticeships has enabled our business to grow rapidly from £50,000 in the first year to £3 million a year turnover.
“It’s not just the business that benefits, as an environmental company we want to show we are committed to the local community and make our workforce sustainable. Through offering structured training we can ensure sustainable growth of the business whilst simultaneously improving youth unemployment in the area.
“We believe apprenticeships are one of the best and most rewarding ways of finding staff; you are changing people’s lives in a way that you don’t get just by giving someone a job. As a business owner you are recruiting young people at a crucial stage in their development, especially in socially deprived areas and using that is a fascinating way to grow the business.”
