A motorhome company in Stafford held a celebration for its apprentices on Monday, at the same time as being nominated for an award in the Training Excellence category at the Stoke Sentinel Business Awards 2020.
Erwin Hymer Centre Travelworld, which employs a total of nine apprentices, held a full day training session with motivational speakers Tim Franks and Beth Hampson-Smith from automotive training providers, Emtec Colleges Limited. The trainers will be sharing their inspiration and knowledge with upcoming trainees working towards a career in the motorhome industry.
Carol Huggins, HR manager who coordinates all training for staff and apprentices, at the company said: “Apprentices are one of the main foundations of our business. We planned our celebrations in acknowledgement of National Apprenticeship Week, which was officially celebrated last week, so the training award nomination for the regional business awards is perfect timing!”
The Apprentice Day session is just one of the many ways the company, which employs 81 members of staff, invests in training and people development. 60% of its employees are on an NVQ course in areas such as business administration, IT, parts and warehousing, sales and customer services, management training and business improvement techniques training.
Last year, the luxury motorhome specialists held an International Women’s Day session to provide a forum for female staff to express their specific needs at work, and it also hosted a Men’s Day directed on men’s health issues, in acknowledgement of International Men’s Day last November.
Ross Edwards, managing director of Erwin Hymer Centre, said: “We are a multi-disciplined business, relying on a workforce with a huge diversity of skills, and as a result, we are heavily invested and passionate about all the training programmes we offer. As well as essential training that ensures our compliance with safety and industry standards, we also value people-focussed training which helps make sure our employees are as comfortable and confident as possible in the working environment we provide.”
UK trade body for the tourer and motorhome industry, the National Caravan Council, has worked closely with the company over the years, today running courses for Travelworld’s in-house staff, as well as external courses at the company’s site in Stafford which was officially opened in February 2018.
Sallyann Adams, Head of Training at the National Caravan Council Academy said: “Travelworld provides state-of-the-art facilities which reflects the excellent standards in their training delivery and are a benchmark for a positive learning and development environment within a forward-thinking business.”
The Stoke Sentinel will be announcing the winner of the awards at a black-tie dinner at King’s Hall, Stoke on Thursday 26th March.
