The Duke of York marked the successful apprenticeship scheme
within Babcock's Mobile Assets business by unveiling an apprentice
roll of honours board. The ceremony took place at Babcock's Park
Royal facility in West London, where a dedicated call centre and
workshop supports the operational fleet contracts for the
Metropolitan Police and the Highways Agency.
The visit was part of a Park Royal Partnership initiative to
promote apprentices within business. As well as a tour of Babcock's
facility, and an opportunity to meet with the operations team and
apprentices, the Duke took part in a roundtable discussion. Babcock
is one of many large, international businesses sited in Park Royal,
Europe's biggest industrial estate - where 3000 businesses and
70,000 employees go about their business every day.
The Babcock Apprentice Honours Board lists the apprentices who
have completed their training with Babcock, and will record every
apprentice who completes their training in the future with Babcock.
Such has been the success of the programme that around 100
applications are received for each apprentice place, and many
former Babcock apprentices have advanced into key roles within the
operation. The progressive approach to apprentice training means
that, not only can able apprentices be fast tracked through the
Level three full framework NVQ, a further year's training is
invested for all apprentices to enable contract specific skills. In
addition, the apprentices receive residential training within the
Babcock run training academies for companies that include BMW and
VW.
Said Paul Wilkins, Mobile Assets Business Director: "It was a
great honour to host the Duke of York at Babcock's Park Royal
facility to mark this occasion."
Our apprenticeship programme is key to ensuring that the business
retains a high quality of service and skills now and in the future.
We take immense pride in seeing the development of our apprentices,
both in the skills they gain and the confidence they build over
their training period."
Babcock's Park Royal facility is a critical part of the Mobile
Assets business, housing the management and operational teams that
manage and maintain a range of critical contracts, including the
Metropolitan Police Services' fleet that travels more than 63
million miles each year.