Fleet Evolution Demonstrate Incredibly Successful Apprenticeship Schemes for Local Youngsters

With the General Election in full swing, and the topic of youth apprenticeships hot on everyone’s lips, Fleet Evolution – one of the fastest-growing providers of salary sacrifice car schemes – is setting a great example when it comes to offering quality apprenticeships that progress into serious careers for young people. Fleet Evolution’s in-house apprenticeship scheme has benefitted the business greatly, as well as helping talented individuals from the local community get their foot in the door of a stable career pathway. Since 2012, the firm has taken on a number of apprentices, training them up in sales, customer services and technical skills, with a view to them eventually becoming permanent staff members. A number of the apprentices have now gone on to work for Fleet Evolution full-time, demonstrating just how effective a good apprenticeship scheme can be for businesses looking to grow in a cost-effective way.

Andrew Leech, Director of Fleet Evolution, says, “We’re great believers in apprenticeships – they allow us to take on the staff necessary for growth, whilst also ensuring that local talent could be recruited, trained up and developed as the business expands. In the three years since it’s been running, our apprenticeship scheme has been a great success, with new team members joining various different departments and boosting our capabilities in a variety of ways.”

He adds, “A number of our apprentices have now progressed to more senior roles in the country – they understand the business inside-out having come through the ranks, and it’s great for us here at Fleet Evolution to be able to give back to the local community with stable jobs for talented individuals.”

The first-ever Fleet Evolution apprentice was Charlotte Brookes, who started at the firm back in 2012. Charlotte was so successful in her twelve months as an apprentice, she now heads up the sales of the ‘salary sacrifice lite’ product, which opens up salary sacrifice schemes to smaller employers around the country, and gives employers access to benefits that were previously only enjoyed by larger companies.

After Charlotte, Amy Martin stepped into the apprentice role. Amy has now completed her apprenticeship and, due to her commitment and pro-active approach to work, has been promoted to Account Manager at Fleet Evolution. Amy primarily manages launches and promotions, as well as ensuring employers understand the salary sacrifice schemes they’re implementing.

The new recruit among the ranks is Robert Bithell, who has just joined Fleet Evolution on a twelve-month apprenticeship. He will start off working on Driverline, helping customers with any queries or issues they have with their cars. Robert will fill this position for six months before the Fleet Evolution team will decide where his future lies and spend another six months preparing him to take on a role permanently. With a preference for sales or a technical role, Robert already has his foot in the doorway of a steady career path – and the beauty of the apprenticeship scheme lies in the total flexibility offered to new recruits.

Mr Leech adds, “Apprenticeships allow young people to gain employment that progresses their careers much faster than traditional routes. From an employer’s perspective, they allow us to get the resources we need to satisfy customer and market demand. We can recruit based on tomorrow’s needs, today – then by the time tomorrow comes, we have trained the perfect employee, allowing us to grow, expand, and meet customer needs.”