Apprentices - Danny Parker and Sarah Ruddy
Developing homes , developing people
Apprentices tell of working life with Thirteen Group
Managing more than 34,000 homes in the North-East and Yorkshire , Thirteen is one of the largest providers of homes for rent and sale in the region .
As well as the economic benefits that come from building new homes and maintaining existing properties , creating and sustaining quality jobs is another area where the wider economy benefits from Thirteen ’ s services and development programme . To ensure the sustainability of its workforce , the housing company has committed to a regular intake of apprentices across its business .
Allison Joynes is head of organisational development and has overall responsibility for apprenticeships at Thirteen .
Allison said : “ We know the importance of apprentices and we ’ ve worked hard to integrate apprenticeships into our recruitment and people development programme .
“ We ’ re a diverse business so we ’ re lucky to be able to offer apprenticeships in a whole range of job areas . We do have opportunities within technical areas , such as our repairs and maintenance teams who offer training in a variety of trades , but we also have apprenticeships in housing , customer services , employability and back-office functions , so we offer a rich experience to apprentices .
“ We really value our apprenticeship programme and have seen some great successes , with many apprentices gaining permanent roles . Eight people recruited into the business as an apprentice have secured permanent roles since 2020 .
“ Some colleagues who started with us as apprentices have gone on to management positions , so after the business has helped them to develop , they ’ re now helping the business to develop !”
Danny builds his career Danny Parker is one apprentice with Thirteen . He works as an advisor in the Touchpoint customer service team and is due to complete his apprenticeship in the spring .
Since starting his apprenticeship in September 2019 , Danny has secured a permanent position within the Touchpoint team and , as his manager Jamie Bute says , he settled in with the team tremendously well .
Jamie said : “ Danny has developed into a real expert in one particular area of the business and fellow team members will often seek him out for help or advice on related issues .
28 | Tees Business