Blackhall News
Nurturing the Blackhall Talent Pipeline
With applications opening this month, I thought I'd give an insight into the Blackhall Talent Pipeline and touch on why I believe apprenticeships are such an effective means of talent development, benefitting both the apprentice, and us as the employer.
The first thing to say is that at Blackhall, we have two 'alternative' routes to the traditional job application process. The first is the Graduate/Placement route. This is effectively a 'sandwich' placement that undergraduates take in their third year. Once graduated, and after a 12-month interview, they may be offered a position.
The second is an apprenticeship.
Why follow the apprenticeship route?
The obvious advantages of undergoing an apprenticeship are that the individual can gain hands-on experience in the workplace and benefit from being in constant touch with professionals who are qualified with the knowledge to 'pass down'. You can also get paid to learn, and I think what's key – what really separates apprenticeships from the university-first route – is that from the very start of your career you gain a feel for the work environment. Classroom theory is of course valuable, but for those looking to cut their teeth in the industry, there's nothing better for honing their skills and knowledge-base than the coarse whetstone of the factory floor.For us as employers, what apprenticeships enable us to do is teach new-starters 'from the ground up', helping them to foster not only the skills necessary to do their job effectively, but also to immerse themselves within the culture of the company and build their working style around the needs of our business. And it works, in fact graduates from our apprenticeship programme currently making up 15-20% of our total workforce.
How about an example?
One of those apprentices is Kian, who is currently splitting his time between Blackhall and his studies at college. Kian has now fully integrated himself into the Blackhall culture, and it's a process that's really benefitted not only his knowledge and skill sets, but his confidence. “Being at college once a week, when I started here, I felt like my Line Manager and even James [our Managing Director] really cared about what I was doing. They'd ask what I was up to at college, and with the 30-day and 100-day reports I was required to present to them, it all made me feel as though they have an interest in what I was doing. It made me feel like I belong here.”
A shining example from our Graduate / Placement route is Aadil, who started with Blackhall as a Trainee Design Engineer in August 2011 on a year's placement whilst studying for his BEng (Hons) Mechanical Engineering Degree. Once graduated, Aadil returned to Blackhall and since then he's been eagerly working his way up the talent pipeline, currently enjoying the role of Technical Manager and now on track to become Technical Director, which shows just how much scope there is for growth for those keen to join the Blackhall Talent Pipeline.
The interview process and beyond
For anybody interested in becoming a Blackhall apprentice, applications for September 2023 are now open, and will be until Easter this year. For those who make the shortlist, we will run a fairly practical interview process, involving practical tasks like giving them a component and asking them to draw it, and asking them to calculate stressors and strains with known data. We might even ask them to build a valve! To get a gauge for their innovative skills, we'll ask them to design a random object, perhaps a bird feeder, which will test both their innovation and communication. From a theory perspective, there'll be online testing, covering their literacy and numeracy skills, all before conducting a final interview, where we'll assess their values and whether they 'fit' into the Blackhall team environment and the values of the business, like teamwork, improvement, professionalism, honesty, openness and trust.
For those successful candidates, it's an exciting opportunity to get truly hands-on experience at a growing and innovative manufacturing firm. Again, Kian is a fine example, and one thing he has really enjoyed during his time here so far is the ability we give our apprentices to experience life across the business. “I actually put in my 100-day report that I would like to move around the business and get a feel for what it's like in different departments, and I feel like they've actually listened to that. In fact, I've already enjoyed spending a three-month period within the Sales Department, and I feel this just helps me get more invested in the business, because the people there actually listen to what I want.”
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