Apprenticeships

From Apprentice to Director

Training From Within

In 1937 Basil Richardson started work as an apprentice making pewter basins for the companies founder Edward Elijah Smith, a mere 10 years later he became EE Smith’s Managing Director.

Following in their father’s footsteps, Basil’s oldest son’s Rodney & Nigel joined as apprentices and by the 80’s had taken over from their father as Directors. Basil’s youngest son John also joined as an apprentice and in 2016 was part of the Management buyout taking over from his older brothers. This close family ethos has been the core to EE Smith’s values & its day to day running of the business.

The extensive investment into the apprenticeship scheme stems from the bespoke nature of the projects undertaken where generations of skills and knowledge ensure we continue in ‘Setting the Standards’ and ensure our 100+ years knowledge is never lost.

We are confident that this strategy is working well due to the high retention rate of our staff members; of the 110 factory workers in Leicester, 70 of them were once apprentices.

 
 

Site Based Apprentices

Training the Next Generation

In addition to our large Leicester based workforce, we have recently set up a successful on-site, London based apprenticeship scheme; this benefits & protects the business when facing economic uncertainties, such as Brexit, resulting in us being far less dependent on qualified European labourers while also helping the young community thrive & learn invaluable industry experience & knowledge. 

Given the triumph of the on going scheme, we are always eager to invest more time & resources into developing the program; this year alone we are taking on a minimum of 20 new apprentices, across factory, site & office roles. As the business rapidly grows, the apprentices are the key to our on going development, with fresh ideas, talent & passion for this diverse industry.Our work force is very diverse, made up of men & women from a variety of ethnicities & backgrounds; we are a strong believer in equality, focusing solely on skills above any other factor. 

Family Ethos

Generations of Family Working Together

Apprentices have been a part of EE Smith’s DNA from the beginning, and this has developed a close family ethos that has been the underlying core in our values & day to day running of the business.

We are confident that this strategy is working well due to the high retention rate of our staff members; of the 110 factory workers in Leicester, 70 of them were once apprentices.

Family generations have worked together making EE Smith what it is today. Even our Managing Director (Neil Bottrill) has kept his family close with his daughter Victoria working in our Buying, PR & Pre-Construction departments.

 

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