WITH little idea of what to do next, Bridget Harold was signposted to an accounts technician apprenticeship at Durham Business Club, now Durham Training.
And, 16 years later, she is now financial director at one of the region’s largest independent electrical wholesalers.
Bridget, who is 33, said: “When I left college early, I really didn’t know what to do, but I’m so glad I was told about the apprenticeship.
“I started at Park Electrical as a junior, doing the filing, making teas and coffees and answering the phone. It was a small company then with just 10 staff, but now there are 50 staff across four sites and I am financial director.”
Team Valley-based Park Electrical, which supplies electrical fittings, lights and cables to customers across the country, is a great believer in apprenticeships and has seen many apprentices rise through its ranks.
Bridget said apprenticeships benefited young people by giving them the opportunity to learn all about office life while employers could mould the recruits to suit their own practices.
She added: “It’s much better being in a working environment, you can’t really learn about the working world in a classroom – it’s too black and white. In an office, you are dealing with customers every day, answering queries and sometimes complaints, and you just aren’t going to learn about that in a classroom.
“Durham Training has provided us with some great apprentices – they just seem to have a bit more about them and a good head on their shoulders.”
As well as Bridget, Park Electrical currently has three staff who served their apprenticeships through Durham Training – Karl Snowdon, who now works as a lighting design engineer, credit controller Lesley Conroy, and purchase ledger/accounts clerk Sarah Wright.
Bridget said all three have excellent prospects to continue their progress through the company.
“Apprenticeships are fantastic because they give young people the chance to see what the working world is all about and to see what parts they like and how they may want to progress their careers,” she said.
