Royal Mail Group may have a pedigree that stretches back to the 16th Century – but it’s also a forward-thinking company keen to develop the emerging talents of every new generation.
People like Ian Creighton, who joined the company as an advanced engineering apprentice about seven years ago and has risen through the ranks to become a plant engineering manager. Or Konrad Piela, now a Linehaul optimisation manager after joining Royal Mail as a logistics management apprentice.
In fact, Royal Mail Group has many employees who started out like Ian and Konrad. The well-loved brand has assets, the infrastructure and the scale that others don’t, so can open up countless career opportunities to young people at all levels – and even the opportunity to switch roles.
It is in the running for Macro Employer of the Year at the National Apprenticeship Awards – and is also a proud sponsor of the Greater Birmingham Apprenticeship Awards 2022. The event is run by our sister website BirminghamLive in partnership with the Ladder for Greater Birmingham campaign with the ceremony taking place on Friday, November 11, 2022 at Edgbaston Stadium.
Royal Mail Group’s head of apprentices, Tracy Fairhurst said: “The fantastic thing about Royal Mail is that we have programmes running in most areas of the business so whether it is finance, HR, professional services, project management, or the more traditional entry level engineering and vehicle maintenance, we have the opportunities for people to come in and give us a try.
“We are such a huge UK-wide group that even if you come and think perhaps an area of the business isn’t suitable, you can try other areas. For example, if you came to us as a postie and wanted to move into something involving technology, or in HR or finance, you’d have the chance to do that without having to leave the company.”
For Konrad Piela, joining the company as an apprentice has led to an impressive career. His management role involves the development and assurance of significant network changes in national, regional and special event networks and he is the lead in Regional Network Compliance.
Konrad said the apprenticeship has helped him work across departments, quickly developing his skills to manage these areas and implement automation to improve data accuracy and work efficiency. He added: “My manager and mentor have always been happy to help drive my development and offer any support or guidance when required, helping me tailor my work projects.”
History and innovation
Royal Mail Group is one of the oldest companies in the world (it can trace its origins back more than 500 years to 1516), but it certainly isn’t resting on its laurels, introducing new technology and digital services and expanding its services at home and abroad.
And bringing through a new generation is one of the keys to that success. Tracy said: “We are very dedicated to driving up the opportunities in our business for young people because they help shape the future, with fresh thinking and fresh energy. Apprenticeships form part of that but we will also looking for graduates and those who are doing T-levels and A-levels – and are offering them internships and work experience placements with a view to them getting to know us and us getting to know them.
Mentoring and more for apprentices
Royal Mail is committed to training and offers a great mentoring scheme, so newcomers aren’t expected to come in knowing everything about the business.
Tracy added: “We pay well above national living wage, we like to think our apprenticeship offer is really competitive, and there are a range of benefits that go with that and a good pension plan. I would say 99pc of the apprentices who start with us end up in a permanent role. We have fantastic retention on our programmes.”
