The team at Target PR is still basking in the glow of pride at winning the Small Business category of the first Gloucestershire Apprenticeship Awards, held last week.Run by The Citizen and Gloucestershire Echo with the sponsorship backing of some great Gloucestershire businesses, the night was impressive on many levels. The Princess Royal was the guest of honour among 340 attendees there to celebrate the skills and talents of local young apprentices and the businesses that support them - as employers and training providers.
For some of the big businesses attending, apprenticeships are nothing new. Engineering, manufacturing, construction - these are all sectors that have long understood the benefits of training on the job, blending theory with practice and a living wage.
Our story is a little different. PR and Marketing has traditionally taken the graduate route, drawing talent fresh from university or as a career change from journalism, and these will undoubtedly remain popular pathways into our profession. But two years ago, we had a little light bulb moment that started our apprenticeship journey.
I was attending the launch of the '100 in 100 Apprenticeship Challenge' at the Hotel du Vin in Cheltenham. It promised to be a handy networking opportunity, I thought, with some rather nice canapes. But I was hooked by a couple of great speakers sharing their personal views - an employer and an apprentice. That, plus a chance to chat to someone from the National Apprenticeship Service (NAS) began the dialogue that led to us taking on our first marketing apprentice, Courtney (pictured here on the right next to me).
The launch was the start of a series of campaigns that Gloucestershire Media has taken to its heart, leading to the awards night last week. But the idea started in the PR team at Gloucestershire College, for which they deservedly won a CIPR PRide Award.
Taking a task as vast as 'growing apprenticeships' and giving it a campaign focus has been hugely successful in this county; targets of creating 100 apprenticeships in each campaign have been exceeded, and that has created a sense of momentum. The partnership with Gloucestershire Media has been pivotal.
The pace has been sustained, and more and more 'advocates' have got involved - some are advocates with direct interests such as training providers, others are simply businesses that want to be part of something positive. Positive for their own business, and for the business community.
So for us, winning an Apprenticeship Award has been a double whammy. Great for Target - a little bit of profile and a pat on the back always does us good. And great for PR, as something that probably started at a brainstorm somewhere deep within Gloucestershire College has sparked a chain of events that are contributing to real change and a life of its own.
Sarah Bryars
