High volume apprenticeship recruitment
ResourceBank has managed the recruitment for apprentices at Vector Aerospace for seven years, providing the business with a pipeline of new talent in an effective, high quality and cost effective manner.
The challenge
Vector Aerospace operates in a technically demanding sector and has an ongoing need to recruit new talent to its UK facilities. It launched an apprenticeship programme but experienced challenges with attracting a sufficient quality of candidates and with managing the high volume of applications. The business decided to outsource the management of its apprenticeship recruitment programme in 2010 to ResourceBank.
First year needs
The challenge given to ResourceBank in 2010 was to broaden the scope of the candidate attraction strategy and to increase the quality of candidates for selection, whilst implementing an efficient and responsive candidate management system. Vector wanted to be in a position to take on 15 apprentices, spread across machinist, electrical and mechanical roles at Fleetlands (Gosport) and Almondbank (Perth).
Attraction strategy
Previously apprentices had been recruited through local press advertising, interest from local schools and ‘word of mouth’. This presented a high administrative workload and did not always ensure that the best candidates joined Vector. The ResourceBank team proposed a new approach involving:
- UK wide internet advertising on relevant job boards
- Continued development of relationships with local education establishments and support organisations
- Open days at each site
- Bespoke printed collateral which would be used to build the Vector employer brand
The first stage of the project was to move away from a paper process to an online application management service delivered via a new Vector Aerospace apprenticeship microsite. This bespoke portal was developed and hosted by ResourceBank in full compliance with Vector Group Identity guidelines.
Assessment and selection
Candidate applications were screened against the technical and personality specifications agree with the Vector managers. Those passing the screen were then interviewed by ResourceBank by phone using technical and competency based questioning. Successful candidates were then invited to an assessment day involving technical testing, a group exercise and a one-to-one interview.
First year results
The new attraction and assessment process enabled Vector to offer apprenticeships to 15 excellent candidates, all of which were taken into the business.
Two apprentices at Fleetlands meeting the Prime Minister during a site visit in 2015
Developments 2011 – 2016
The success of the outsourcing has continued and ResourceBank has introduced new elements to the process including Social Media recruitment, pay per click advertising, and on-line assessment.
Overall results and outcome
Since 2010, ResourceBank has managed 12,356 applications and recruited over 80 apprentices, several who have won awards for their performance, and many are now at varying stages in their career at Vector. The effective management of an apprentice program in a sector with severe skills shortages has enabled Vector Aerospace to compete and win new maintenance contracts with confidence.
If you are interested in how you can recruit apprentices in the most effective way then please contact Richard Pearson on 01952 281900 or 07734 972684 or send an email
