HALFORDS ANNOUNCES OPPORTUNITIES FOR 500 APPRENTICES
New scheme supported by Chancellor of the Exchequer, George Osborne
Halfords today announces a new initiative which will see the retailer place 500 apprentices in its stores over the next 12 months. The scheme is supported by the Chancellor of the Exchequer, George Osborne who attended the launch at Halfords’ Shirley store in the West Midlands and will see an apprentice in every Halfords store in the UK.
The nationwide rollout follows the success of a pilot scheme which boasted a 62% success rate of candidates securing jobs at Halfords, with six candidates from the trial awarded certificates today by George Osborne in recognition of their achievements.
Halfords is raising the bar with its Traineeship pre-employment programme, which equips candidates with four qualifications. Those completing the three weeks intense training will gain Halfords’ Gear 1 level training, a Retail Level 1 certificate, an Employability & Personal Development Certificate, and Level 1 or 2 in Maths & English.
The scheme is open to people who are currently unemployed, long-term unemployed and NEETS (not in education, employment or training) and on completion of the above training, candidates are interviewed and, if successful, offered apprenticeships.
Halfords’ CEO Matt Davies said, “We wanted to go above and beyond the usual apprenticeship model, and by offering pre-employment training to our candidates, we’re raising the bar for training in the retail industry. We will train 500 apprentices across Halfords in year one with this new scheme and see huge potential for the programme in getting people back into work and a new wave of talent into the industry.”
Chancellor of the Exchequer, George Osborne said, “Improving skills and creating jobs is at the centre of the Engine for Growth we want to build in the Midlands. Our Long Term Economic Plan for the Midlands is all about ensuring that the right training and apprenticeships are available to make the most of people’s talents and that’s why I welcome the investment Halfords are making in people. It’s great news that their programme will create hundreds of new opportunities for hard-working people, right across the country.”
Halfords has already run an Apprentice Scheme in its Autocentre business for over 20 years and currently has 225 apprentices employed in the business, with a pass rate currently at 80% for completion of the three year full time Apprenticeship.
The 2014 Apprentice of the Year, Elijah Sumner has progressed to the World Skills Final and he is in a team competing to represent the UK at the finals in Brazil later this year.
Halfords has 11,000 employees and was named number 25 in the Sunday Times Best Places to Work Survey 2014.
To find out more about Halfords training and apprenticeships, visit Halfordscareers.com and click on apprenticeship.
ENDS
Notes to editors:
Halfords also runs a free Kids’ Holiday Bike Workshop at its stores offering children the chance to learn basic bike maintenance and safety skills. So far, 48,000 children aged between 7 and 11 and their parents have attended the workshops. In schools, Halfords offers term-time Gear Up! workshops and 12,000 children have completed this scheme which teaches safety and bike maintenance skills to children in the final year of primary school. Over 7,500 cubs have also attended free bike workshops towards their Cyclist Activity Badge too.
Through national trade-in events Halfords has donated 10,000 adult bikes to the charity Re-Cycle, which sends unwanted bikes to people in need in Africa and teaches the skills needed for repair and maintenance for a sustainable solution. This new schools donation programme is the next step in Halfords’ community strategy.
In November 2014, Halfords launched an industry first scheme recycling kids’ bikes in the UK. The bikes come from Halfords’ national trade-in events where customers who donate unwanted bikes. Each bike is reconditioned through a rehabilitation programme Halfords runs with Onley prison, which trains offenders in bike mechanic skills, giving them future employment opportunities and aiding personal development.
The scheme will donate 500 children’s bikes and new bike helmets to schools in the eight cycling cities of Manchester, Leeds, Birmingham, Newcastle, Bristol, Cambridge, Oxford and Norwich. Schools are invited to apply at www.halfordscompany.com/responsibility/community
For further information please contact Halfords@z-pr.com or 020 7896 3404
Halfords is the UK’s leading retailer of automotive, cycling and leisure products and, through Halfords Autocentres, also one of the UK’s leading independent car servicing and repair operators. Halfords customers shop at 465 stores in the UK and Republic of Ireland and at halfords.com for pick-up at their local store or direct home delivery. Halfords Autocentres operates from around 300 sites nationally and offers motorists dealership-quality MOTs, repairs and car servicing at affordable prices.
The Halfords Group strategy is based on three pillars:
· Supporting Drivers Of Every Car
· Inspiring Cyclists Of Every Age
· Equipping Families For Their Leisure Time
The Getting Into Gear strategy for the Retail business is based on executing in five key areas in order to deliver a significantly-enhanced customer experience:
· Service Revolution
· The H Factor
· Stores Fit to Shop
· 21st Century Infrastructure
· Click with the Digital Future
Halfords employs approximately 11,000 colleagues and sells around 9,000 product lines in store, increasing to around 160,000 Retail products online. The Retail offering encompasses significant ranges in car parts, cycling products, in-car technology, child seats, roof boxes and camping equipment. Halfords’ own cycling brands include Apollo, Carrera, Boardman and 13 cycles, augmented by a range of other brands of cycles and accessories, including Kona, Mongoose, Raleigh and Pinarello. In Auto, the Halfords Essentials and Halfords Advanced ranges are sold alongside brands such as Generic Electric, Bosch, Garmin and TomTom. In Travel Solutions, Halfords sells a premium range of equipment including camping brands such as CampinGaz and Outwell. Halfords offers customers expert advice and a while you wait fitting service for consumables including bulbs, blades and batteries as well as child seats, in-car entertainment systems and a ‘werepair’ service for cycles.
www.halfords.com
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