Housing association Bromford has showcased its commitment to developing its people by joining The 5% Club, an industry led initiative focused on driving momentum into the recruitment of apprentices, graduates and sponsored students.
The 5% Club, initiated by Leo Quinn, Group CEO of Balfour Beatty in 2013, is a movement of more than 500 employers providing ‘earn and learn’ opportunities to develop the skills and talents people need to become more employable and create meaningful careers. Companies joining The 5% Club commit to raising the number of apprentices, sponsored students, and graduates on formal programmes to 5% of their total workforce within five years. Members are also asked to publicly report their progress in their Annual Report. Existing members range from SMEs to FTSEs and cover a number of diverse industries, from engineering through to the legal sector.
With a flexible, trust-based approach to work and a set of values — called the Bromford DNA — sitting at the heart of its culture, Bromford says its success lies in the team of people who work for them. In a changing world of new technologies and ways of doing things, investing in its workforce will become increasingly vital which is why the 45,000-home landlord, with homes across the Midlands and South West, has chosen National Apprenticeship Week 2022 as the perfect opportunity to join the 5% Club and commit to investing even more considerably in its apprenticeships and graduates.
The housing association will soon launch the Bromford graduate scheme, helping it address skills gaps, kick-start career pathways, bring in new talent and, ultimately, create the best team it can. It will also help support one of Bromford’s key strategic goals to have 100 graduates and apprenticeships in place by 2023.
Robert Nettleton, Chief Executive at Bromford, said: “What really matters to Bromford are the people who live in our homes and we want every single one of them to thrive. Investing in apprentices and graduates is central to us achieving this aim and I’m delighted that we are joining the 5% Club which will support our drive to bring the best and brightest talent to Bromford from schools, colleges, and other sectors across the UK.”
Gill Cronin, Director of Operations of The 5% Club commented: “We’re delighted to welcome Bromford into membership. The 5% Club provides a fantastic network of HR professionals, sharing and learning from each other. All our members share an ethos of creating a skilled workforce through ‘earn and learn’ development programmes, helping people develop meaningful career paths.”
