Celebrating one year of Aptus Academy

The photograph captures a dynamic workshop scene within the Aptus Academy, where over thirty members of the Aptus Utilities team are engaged in an educational session. The attendees, including apprentices and staff from various departments like gas, water, electric, streetlighting, and finance, are seated around tables focused on a presentation at the front. Two speakers are actively addressing the group, positioned beside a screen displaying the Aptus Academy branding and information. This visual supports the narrative of the Academy's role in promoting career development and the cultivation of skills within the utilities industry. It underscores the company's dedication to providing valuable learning experiences and its commitment as a Gold Member of The 5% Club to 'earn and learn' positions.

In October 2022, we launched Aptus Academy to help us promote career pathways in our industry and support our people to gain the qualifications, skills and experience they need to progress.

We were delighted to welcome more than thirty members, including our multi-utility and business administration apprentices, as well as colleagues from our gas, water, electric, streetlighting and finance teams.

Since the launch we have hosted four academy workshops which invite members to take part in group activities, roundtable discussions and feedback sessions.

We have also had a great range of speakers joining us to share their expertise. These include a communication masterclass from Mastery Associates, a session on finance from Bartlett Group, and an inspiring visit from WHYSUP – who offered practical ways to nurture a positive mindset and highlighted how raising awareness of mental health can improve organisational wellbeing.

The forum has given us a great opportunity to expand upon areas of the business and answer any questions members may have, as well as helping them to identify areas for further training and development.

In our most recent workshop in September, Marie Guest from BiteSize Learning shared some key pointers for members on how to proactively manage their careers. We were also delighted to welcome our first T Level students on placement from Bolton College.

We’ve had some excellent feedback on the Academy, which has an important role to play in continuing to help us attract and retain new talent.

Supporting this commitment, we have become members of The 5% Club, which pledges to achieve 5% of our workforce in ‘earn and learn’ positions within five years. We already have around 10% of colleagues in this position, earning us Gold Membership status!