The 5% Club, the employer-led movement which champions investment in the next generation through workplace training, announces that Rolls-Royce has joined its rapidly growing membership.
Launched 3 years ago, membership is now over 200. Existing members range from SMEs to FTSEs and cover a number of diverse industries, from engineering through to the legal sector.
Upon signing The 5% Club’s charter, members commit to strive to achieve 5% of their workforce in “earn and learn” positions within 5 years of joining; these roles can be apprentices, sponsored students and graduate trainees. Each member must also report on their progress in their annual report.
Rolls-Royce has a strong commitment to apprentice and graduate recruitment and to developing employee skills. In 2015, the business recruited 228 graduates and 277 apprentices throughout the company’s worldwide training programmes.
Other new joiners include the design consultancy Arcadis, electrical contractor Clarkson Evans and the luxury hotel The Dorchester, which recently hosted a high-level dinner during Apprenticeship Week with The Rt Hon Robert Halfon MP, Minister of State for Apprenticeships and Skill to discuss how The 5% Club can help equip the UK with the skills it needs to boost productivity and compete internationally.
Penny Cobham, Director General of The 5% Club, commented:
“Post-Brexit, the UK must ensure that every young individual has the opportunity to develop the skills that will enable them to embark on a rewarding career and enable businesses to compete internationally. I am delighted that Rolls-Royce, a company with a rich history of developing high performance power systems, has taken yet another step in its strong commitment to investing in the skills of the next generation by joining The 5% Club. Rolls-Royce already has a highly regarded training programme for apprentices and graduates and I hope that through membership of The 5% Club that the company can share its understanding of best practice with other member.”
Paul Broadhead, Head of Community Investment & Education Outreach of Rolls-Royce, said:
“We continue to develop our employee base, ensuring we have the right skills for our business today and the right capabilities for the future. Our early career programmes are vital to us. Our apprentices and graduates are the fuel that powers our innovation. To enthuse, inspire and attract diverse talent into our company, the sector and wider society we have also committed to reach 6 million people through our STEM programmes and activities by 2020. It is this investment in skills for the future that fits so well with the aims and commitment of the employer membership of The 5% Club. We are therefore proud to join The 5% Club.”
For more information contact:
Hamish Hardie
Portland Communications
T: 0207 554 1835
E: hamish.hardie@portland-communications.com
Notes to editors:
The 5% Club
The 5% Club works with UK employers and key influencers to inspire, educate and retain a growing body of people into “earn and learn” placements in order to increase the number of apprentices, sponsored students and graduates.
The goal of The 5% Club is to increase the employment and career prospects of today’s youth and equip the UK with the skilled workforce it needs to safeguard Britain’s economy.
The 5% Club was launched in 2013.
Members sign The 5% Club charter. As a member of The 5% Club employers state they are:
• Committed to helping the UK’s growth agenda and acknowledge the importance of developing people as both a business and social imperative
• Playing their part in addressing youth unemployment and skills shortage
• Pledging to work towards having a minimum 5% of their UK workforce enrolled on formalised apprentice, sponsored student and/or graduate development schemes within five years
• Measuring and reporting on their progress annually against the above metric in their Corporate Social Responsibility section of the Annual Report and Accounts or equivalent document
• Committed to encouraging other employers to participate in the campaign.
The Steering Board for The 5% Club is formed of the Chairman, Leo Quinn, Group Chief Executive, Balfour Beatty; Allan Cook, Chairman, Atkins; Steve Wadey, CEO, QinetiQ; David Armstrong, UK MD, MBDA.
Membership is free, however going forward the running costs of The 5% Club will be funded by donations from members.
