Twelve apprentices have joined Birmingham-based Wesleyan Assurance Society as the first step in a career in financial services.
The group have joined the mutual as part of an 18 month programme that will see half of them placed in the Customer Services area of the business and the rest with General Insurance.
Earlier this year, Wesleyan offered permanent positions to the five people who recently completed a year-long pilot apprenticeship scheme. This new intake will work full time at Wesleyan, with support from Birmingham Metropolitan College as they work towards an NVQ Level 2 in Business Administration or Providing Financial Services.
The scheme, which is designed to provide an alternative route into a financial services career, has been championed by Wesleyan Chief Executive Craig Errington, who is also Chairman of the National Skills Academy for Financial Services' (NSAFS) Employer Board in the West Midlands.
Mr Errington said: "We are delighted to welcome the new apprentices to the Society and hope they will have a long career ahead of them. We were inundated with applications from all over the region, proving there is a huge appetite for this kind of scheme and an ambition among those leaving education to get out there and find jobs that will provide opportunities for them to grow and develop for years to come.
"This scheme is important to us, and the industry as a whole, because it shows there is an alternative route into financial services and allows us to grow our own talent and boost skills levels. The mistaken impression is that apprenticeships are just for manual or industrial jobs, but schemes like this are at the forefront of getting people into professional careers and providing them with on-the-job training that benefits them and the company."
Wesleyan provides specialist financial services for doctors, dentists, teachers and lawyers.
Wesleyan Chief Executive Craig Errington (centre) with the new apprentices (l to r) Subhi Kenth, Omar Sadik, Georgia Logan, Jack Hughes, Luke Cohen, Dominic La Touche, Thomas Hogan, Sonia Nawaz, Marcus Clarke, Daniel Armstrong, Chanel Ebanks and Adam Potter.