Berkeley Group has welcomed 47 new graduates (22) and apprentices (25), as the company continues to invest in the next generation of talent and take steps to tackle the industry’s skills challenges.
The new intake brings the total number of employees in accredited ‘earn and learn’ training roles to more than 350, which includes 190 apprentices, 88 graduates and 81 sponsored students undertaking at least a year of accredited training.
An average of 10% of Berkeley’s employees were in earn and learn roles in 2022-2023, which reflects the company’s long-term commitment to developing skills and improving access to built environment careers.
Berkeley’s trainees are key to supporting the future of the company, as it brings forward 32 of the country’s most challenging long-term regeneration sites.
Rob Perrins, Chief Executive of Berkeley Group, said “The built environment sector has a vital role to play, tackling the housing crisis, the transition to net zero, and re-energising our towns and cities through urban regeneration. But to achieve all this, we have to overcome the skills and recruitment challenges that constrain our vital work. That’s why we’re delighted to welcome nearly fifty new apprentices and graduates to our teams, many of whom are recruited from the communities around our sites.”
Sophie Hinton, Apprentice Construction Manager at Berkeley’s Wallingford site said “This apprenticeship appealed to me because we get to learn on the job, not just in a classroom. I’m excited to get out and see my new site and start absorbing it all, which I’ll get to do really soon.”
The graduates and apprentices are beginning their programmes with a two-week induction, and will then move on to their tailored training courses, working with industry-leading experts and gaining hands-on experience.
Berkeley supports skills development through a network of dedicated skills managers, mentors, the Berkeley Academy training centre, an online Learning Management System, and a network of external training partners.
Berkeley Group has set Future Skills as one of ten strategic priorities under its long-term business strategy, called Our Vision 2030.
Berkeley Group is a Gold member of The 5% Club, a network of leading businesses that commit to a minimum of 5% of their direct workforce being in earn and learn positions.
In 2023 the company Berkeley Group was ranked 16th in The Job Crowd’s Top Companies for Graduates to Work For based on anonymous graduate feedback.