Beverley Company Gives Chance To Local Apprentice

A Beverley company has helped a local teenager achieve his goal of becoming an apprentice.

Andrew Corlyon, 19, had been searching for an Apprenticeship for almost eight months before being taken on by printing to IT services company Contrac in Grovehill Road.

The teenager is now part of a five-strong team in the company’s busy warehouse following the retirement of their warehouse manager.

Contrac provides solutions to businesses, ranging from IT services to promotional products and print services.

Operations director Melanie Hopper said:

“We wanted to make sure we continued to operate efficiently, while also giving a chance to an apprentice.”

“It’s going really well. Andrew is very at home and has fitted right in. Once the Apprenticeship finishes, we hope to be able to offer him a job.”

“We would much rather have someone who knows us and we know them, than take on somebody we don’t know.”

The Apprenticeship is being delivered in partnership with TIR Training in Beverley. Andrew started his placement in August and works from 9am to 5pm, Monday to Friday.

In his role, he picks, packs and prepares orders for shipping and helps with stock rotation as well as the day-to-day running of the warehouse.

Before joining Contrac, the former Beverley Grammar School pupil completed several catering courses and took on short term jobs before enrolling on a jobs skills course for the unemployed run by TIR Training.

It was while he was on the employability training course that the opportunity to join Contrac as an apprentice came up and the company contacted TIR for suitable candidates.

Andrew, who lives in Beverley, said: “I had been trying to get a job or an Apprenticeship for about seven or eight months and I’m really enjoying it.

“It’s feels good to be part of a team and we all get on very well.”

Assessors from TIR visit Andrew at work to assess his progress and deliver training. Some of the units in the Apprenticeship have been completed using video evidence.

Melanie said the partnership with TIR has been positive from the start.

“TIR is local, so you know you are speaking to someone on the doorstep,” she said. “They are always at the end of the phone and we are keen to do business with local businesses.”

Jason Paterson, training officer at TIR, said:

“Andrew is doing an absolutely fantastic job. I have no doubt he will achieve his apprenticeship qualification and that will be about Spring time next year.”

“He should be looking at continued professional development because he is certainly capable of it. Contrac is an excellent company to work with and it’s a really clean, safe and controlled working environment.”