New Apprentices Join Blenheim’s Human Resources Team

Ellie Yendle, 17, from Kidlington, Oxford and Laura Edminson, 18, from Eynsham are among the latest youngsters to take advantage of Blenheim’s commitment to train over 100 apprentices within the next 10 years.

Training apprentices is part of Blenheim’s ambitious 10 Goals initiative launched by new CEO Dominic Hare last year.

Sarah Morris, Head of HR at Blenheim, said: “We chose Laura and Ellie because they both really stood out, we recruit our apprentices for attitude over skills and they both have a keen interest in people as well as business and delivering exceptional service which is such an important element of any Human Resources function.”

As well as building relationships with local education providers Sarah believes the apprenticeship scheme also breathes a new lease of life into the businesses.

“The calibre of our apprentices has been outstanding and we have upskilled our capability as a workforce as a result,” she said.

“We are such a diverse business that we offer something very different and our apprenticeships range from forestry, gardening and shepherding, to customer service and IT.

“There is no other business like us where you are involved in not just your day job, but you also participate in exciting projects such as the Christmas Lights and Countryfile Live events, filming, hosting high profile visitors and even dredging the lakes!” she added.

Ellie chose HR because she was eager to deal with all the functions of a business that relate to its employees and team development.

“I am learning and enjoying all the new skills I develop on a day to day basis. I am working towards an ICT qualification as well as a Business diploma level 2 NVQ,” she said.

“I have also attended several training courses such as Interviewing and Recruitment training days and First Aid Training.”

Laura wanted to apprentice in Blenheim’s HR team as she felt it was an important aspect of a business for it to run smoothly and effectively, along with helping staff and making sure they are comfortable, content and work to the best of their ability.

“I am confident I will not only take away a qualification in business administration, but also gain plenty of experience that I will continue to use for the rest of my working life,” she said.

The apprenticeship scheme is also enabling Blenheim to offer new and existing staff a structured way of unlocking their potential through training and experiences.