Albert Goodman commits to ‘earn and learn’ by joining The 5% Club

Albert Goodman has showcased its commitment to developing its people by joining The 5% Club, an industry led initiative focussed on driving momentum into the recruitment of apprentices, graduates and sponsored students.

The 5% Club, initiated by Leo Quinn CEO of Balfour Beatty in 2013, is a movement of more than 300 employers providing ‘earn and learn’ opportunities to develop the skills and talents people need to become more employable and create meaningful careers. Companies joining The 5% Club commit to raising the number of apprentices, sponsored students and graduates on formal programmes to 5% of their total workforce within five years. Members are also asked to publicly report their progress in their Annual Report. Existing members range from SMEs to FTSEs and cover a number of diverse industries, from engineering through to the legal sector.

Simon Irvin, Head of HR stated, “We are delighted to have become a member of the 5% club and joining the other members in supporting the career prospects of today’s youth and equip the UK with the skilled workforce it needs. This membership solidifies our commitment and people strategy towards the employment of apprentices, placements and graduates in to ‘earn and learn positions”.

Albert Goodman has long been a Firm that has promoted the opportunities for young people across the South West with 44 of the current 307 headcount under the age of 25. Over the past 5 years there tends to be somewhere between 10% and 15% of the Firm under some kind of training agreement whilst working. As well as formal apprenticeships, placements and graduate schemes the Firm also offers work experience as well as School / College / University talks and other support.

Lady Cobham, Director General of The 5% Club said, “We’re delighted to welcome Albert Goodman into membership. The 5% Club provides a fantastic network of HR professionals, sharing and learning from each other. All our members share an ethos of creating a skilled workforce through ‘earn and learn’ development programmes, helping people develop meaningful career paths.”