FEATURE
Developing people - From left , Thirteen ’ s Becky Fisher , Danny Parker , Rachel Summerhill , Sarah Ruddy and Allison Joynes
“ In our team , Danny is known as the ‘ guru ’ for one particular system , and due to his tireless efforts , his customer service skills and his willingness to help anybody out , he recently won the rising star award at Thirteen ’ s internal awards ceremony .”
Danny said : “ I ’ ve really enjoyed my apprenticeship with Thirteen and it ’ s definitely helped me to secure my role in the Touchpoint team . It ’ s been a brilliant challenge and has helped me to develop in my work life .
“ If anyone ’ s thinking about an apprenticeship , I ’ d really recommend it . Apprenticeships help you learn about your role at the same time as doing it and getting paid , so I think it ’ s a win-win all round !”
Sarah Ruddy is another apprentice who has benefited from Thirteen ’ s apprenticeship scheme . She works as an admin support apprentice in Building Support Services and has been working for Thirteen since 2020 , with her apprenticeship due to complete this year .
Sarah said : “ When I first started working for Thirteen , I was full of nerves . I didn ’ t know any of my colleagues and I had a lot to learn about my job role .
“ But after almost two years of being with the company , I can now say that this is the best job I ’ ve had .
“ Working at Thirteen has helped me gain a lot of experience in so many different areas . I ’ ve boosted my confidence skills , my teamworking skills and my admin skills , and I feel like an important member of my team .
“ Everyone I ’ ve met at Thirteen has been so supportive and lovely , helping me gain knowledge and take on new experiences to help me progress in my future .”
Owen ’ s estates ’ achievements Owen Goodings joined Thirteen as a Kickstart trainee in June 2021 and started an apprenticeship with Estate Services in December .
Owen said : “ When I first started at Thirteen , I didn ’ t know what to expect . I didn ’ t know if grounds maintenance was for me but I was keen to be part of a great organisation .
“ After learning about the values and behaviours and seeing the team working so well together , I felt really proud to be a part of it all and have made some great friends already .
“ I ' m really keen to keep progressing and learning and I ’ m so excited to be starting on an apprenticeship and being given the chance to study with a great college .”
You can see more about Owen ' s story by scanning the QR code .
IIP Gold To demonstrate its understanding that business success is based on the commitment of its people , Thirteen has just been awarded the prestigious Gold Investors in People accreditation .
IIP Gold shows that organisations have the right policies , systems , behaviours and culture in place to enable employees to deliver strategies , and also demonstrate that everyone – from the CEO to the newest apprentice – takes ownership for doing so .
Only 17 per cent of IIP-accredited organisations achieve the Gold award .
Heather Ashton , executive director of business change and improvement at Thirteen , said : “ We ' re really thrilled to have achieved the Gold IIP accreditation .
" People are our biggest asset and as part of the accreditation process , we ' ve been really pleased with the positive feedback we ' ve received from , and about , all our colleagues .
“ The Gold IIP award demonstrates how we ’ re committed to high performance through good people management , and if we can give the right support to our colleagues , they can provide great services for our customers .”
The voice of business in the Tees region | 29