Finning Apprenticeship Academy scores ‘good’ Ofsted rating

Caterpillar dealers Finning avoid engineering skills shortages by successfully developing their own talent

WITH national and global skills shortages in engineering, Finning – the world’s largest dealer of Caterpillar equipment, parts and services – are bucking the trend by successfully developing their own talent. Not only does their UK Apprenticeship Academy boast a 100% retention rate – meaning all students over the last two years have gone on to employment with the company – but it has now also achieved a ‘good’ Ofsted rating.

Finning launched their Apprenticeship Academy at their Cannock UK headquarters in 2007. This was an unusual step at the time, as most businesses take on apprentices in the role of employer, while an educational institution, usually a college of further education, delivers the academic learning and administers the qualification. But the decision quickly started to return real business benefits.

The academy was inspected by Ofsted in July this year, receiving highly positive feedback on the state-of-the-art learning environment, a culture of inclusivity, and the enjoyment apprentices find in their courses. Inspectors also noted how effective communication between instructors and line managers helped apprentices to improve, and how students with additional needs achieved as well as their peers.

As academy manager Craig Smallman explained, the rating reflects the importance Finning has placed on the scheme and the impact it has had both for apprentices and the business.

‘By keeping the whole apprenticeship programme in-house, we can deliver academic learning in the best way to prepare our students for a career with us – enthusing people about engineering and addressing the ongoing skills shortages the industry faces,’ he said.

‘The results from Ofsted speak for themselves. The national retention figure for apprenticeship employers is around 56%, but at Finning we’ve retained all but one of our apprentices over the last two years who have gone on to secure a job with us. It’s a fantastic endorsement of the talented people we have working here and the focus we place on supporting them.’

With the programme now in its eighteenth year, its positive influence can be seen right across the company. Academy graduates now fulfil a variety of management positions in both engineering and non-engineering roles. This includes Mr Smallman himself, who started his career with Finning as an apprentice and is particularly proud of how the scheme has fostered wider diversity and inclusion.

‘Diversity and inclusion is an area where we see a real opportunity for the academy to contribute to the wider organization and the industry, he said. ‘We have measures in place to recruit and support a diverse cohort and it was great to see that recognized in the Ofsted report.

‘Over the next few years, we plan to double in size and this year’s intake will be the biggest ever. The ages of our current students range from 16 to 53, we are a disability confident employer, and one in six of our apprentices are female, but we’d like it to be more.’