insideKENT Magazine Issue 37 - April 2015 | Page 158

PROPERTY

Redrow launched recruitment drive during
National Apprenticeship Week
Fifty young people are
being given the
opportunity to forge a
successful career with
one of the country’s
largest housebuilders,
including six across
Kent and Essex.

Karen Jones, HR director for
Redrow Homes, said: “We’ve made
a further commitment this year to
take on another 50 trade
apprentices. We already have more
than 100 bricklaying, carpentry,
joinery and plumbing apprentices
working for us, plus dozens of
office-based commercial and
technical apprentices.

Redrow Homes
launched its annual
apprentice recruitment
drive at the start of National Apprenticeship Week (9th-13th March).
Liam Sargeant,
apprentice bricklayer, Redrow Homes

“We’re also right behind NAS’s ‘100
Reasons Why’ campaign. There are
so many great reasons to employ
apprentices; not only are they
essential to ensure a skilled
workforce for the future and an
integral part of our sustainability
agenda, they also bring fresh ideas,
energy and enthusiasm to our
workforce, and increase business
productivity.”

During the week, Redrow kick-started its recruitment drive by visiting schools
and colleges across the region to talk to students about its training schemes.
The housebuilder already ranks in the City & Guilds top 100 apprentice
employers in England, as well as the Building Good Employer Guide 2014,
both for the second consecutive year.
Redrow’s announcement that is it taking on 50 new trade apprentices
nationally coincides with the National Apprenticeship Service’s (NAS) ‘100
Reasons Why’ campaign, which aims to highlight the importance of
apprenticeships and why companies employ young trainees.

Redrow has one of the industry’s
best records for training and
developing its staff, with 15% of its
workforce having official trainee
status. As well as apprenticeships,
the company nurtures young talent
through undergraduate work
placements, postgraduate training
and other vocational training.
With trade apprenticeship schemes
across its building sites, Redrow
also runs apprentice programmes
for administration, design, technical
and commercial roles at its divisional
headquarters in Laindon, Essex,
and has a great track record when
it comes to promoting apprentices
to more senior positions.
To find out more about careers and
apprentice schemes at Redrow,
visit www.redrowcareers.co.uk.

Local estate agent rebrands after 70 years

George Proctor & Partners, one of South East
London's longest-established and well-known
estate agents, is rebranding the company as part
of an extensive modernisation programme to
further improve its service to homebuyers and
sellers.
With a history spanning nearly 70 years, George
Proctor & Partners has branches throughout the
London Borough of Bromley, as well as Anerley
and Shirley, all with a reputation for
professionalism and excellent customer service.
The rebranding includes a renaming of the
company to Proctors, with a striking new visual
brand identity for its branches. The modernisation
programme follows extensive customer research,
used to establish what buyers and sellers were
really looking for from an estate agent.

“We obviously didn’t want to make any changes
to such an established business without due
consideration,” says Timothy Proctor, partner at
the Park Langley branch. “The name change and
new branding mark a significant milestone for
our company, but this is much more than a
facelift; it’s about giving customers an even better
service.”
It was clear from the research that what ultimately
matters most to those moving home is that their
estate agent makes the process as stress-free
as possible. Among the key qualities that they
look for in an agent are experience, local
knowledge, and a willingness to ‘go the extra
mile’.
Proctors’ new brand identity will be accompanied
by a social media programme designed to offer

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hints and tips to those buying, selling, or renting
properties, plus information on the local area and
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