starting your own company
“To my mind, the practical element
of an electrician’s job is vital.
I would not be interested in taking
on an electrician who hasn’t
completed an apprenticeship.”
Businesses can often start from
a varied range of circumstances
but when Dan Jackson
and Mark Dudman found
themselves redundant they
took the brave step to form
BlueServe Facilities Limited
in Croydon and have not looked
back since.
The two had already completed their
apprenticeships when their Kingstonbased employer ceased trading. This
was June 2010, so times for new
business start-ups were not altogether
encouraging. Since then the company has grown to 13 team members,
the majority of whom have served full
apprenticeships.
The bulk of the business involves
the management, maintenance and
installation of electrical systems,
testing and inspection, fire and
security and telephone systems. The
first apprentice was engaged shortly
after formation, Oliver Levin having
joined and completed his training
in November 2012.
So why head down the
apprenticeship route with JTL?
Dan Jackson explains:
“It was a no-brainer for us really. We
both benefitted massively from our
apprenticeships and we realised that
the best way to build a business, to
expand it in the way we wanted, was
to train our own workforce to our own
high standards. And we recognised
that this was best achieved by
employing apprentices on a structured
apprenticeship programme. So it
made sense to us to go back to the
training provider that helped us a few
years before and seek their help.
“We have many applicants for an
electrician’s role with us who claim
they are ‘fully qualified’ having
completed short courses online
or even full-time at college. To my
mind, the practical element of an
electrician’s job is vital. I would
not be interested in taking on an
electrician who hasn’t completed an
apprenticeship,” he concluded.
Blueserve co-founder Dan Jackson (right): most of his staff have completed apprenticeships
Winter 2014
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