Small Employer of the Year

Craig Hambling Ltd pro-actively works on engaging local, young people via classroom talks at schools, to demonstrate and explain the benefits of undertaking an Apprenticeship with the Company.

“As early as the 1990’s, we recognised a chronic shortage of skilled labour within the construction industry and wanted to combat this problem,” says Robert Sharples of Craig Hambling Ltd.  “We set about by developing our own Apprenticeship programme, in conjunction with our local training provider, Accrington & Rossendale College. Through this programme we have ensured a steady stream of enthusiastic employees, who we can trust to work to the high standards of skill and dedication benchmarked as standard for our company.”

Through their work, Craig Hambling Ltd has excelled in providing a structured, high quality learning experience for their apprentices.  Mentors actively guide and support the apprentices and encourage them to continue with their further studies.

They believe that the learning process never truly ends as new experiences and challenging work situations form part of every working day.  Newly qualified apprentices are placed on a three year development programme, and given an appraisal every six months with regular pay reviews.

This is the second year running that Craig Hambling Ltdhas reached the finals of the Apprenticeship Awards. Their success can be demonstrated through their excellent staff retention rate, with 90 per cent of apprentices remaining in full time employment.

Craig Hambling Ltd has also benefited over the years from its involvement with the Apprenticeship programme, ensuring the company stays at the cutting edge of the industry as the latest techniques are taken back to work from college.

Craig Hambling Ltd was Highly Commended in the Small Employer of the Year category in 2005, and is a finalist in this year’s national Apprenticeship Award 2007.