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Cross Keys Homes is celebrating six years of its successful pre-apprenticeship programme this National Apprenticeship Week.

The opportunity is open to 16- 24 year olds with the aim of helping them to successfully move onto employment, education or training afterwards. In fact, many former pre-apprentices now hold permanent jobs with CKH.

Santa Volmane joined CKH last summer as a customer service pre-apprentice and has now joined the team on a permanent basis. Santa said of her experience: “The biggest thing I’ve taken away is confidence, I didn’t think I could work in an office environment.

Now I feel good about what my options for the future are, I even have a five-year plan.”

Pre-apprentice opportunities differ from conventional apprenticeships as they offer 6-month paid placements that focus on general job-readiness rather than a specific vocational qualification. Working in partnership with Peterborough City College to provide workshops on job searching, CV writing, and interview skills as part of the programme, CKH help prepare all of their pre-apprentices for their next step.

Allison Long, Executive Director of Organisational Effectiveness and HR at Cross Keys Homes said: “We’ve found pre-apprenticeships to be a really popular option for young people looking to gain practical work skills and move onto new opportunities quickly. We’re able to offer placements across the business and have had pre-apprentices join almost all of our teams at least once over the last six years.

We’re confident that the programme is a great foundation for work, in fact many programme graduates have gone on to secure roles with CKH and have become incredibly valued team members. It’s a programme we’re committed to delivering and growing for many more years to come.”

Applications for the 2018 CKH pre-apprenticeship programme will open later this year. Visit www.crosskeyshomes.co.uk to find out more.