Mayor joins Selco apprentices at celebration

Mr Street attended the Old Library on Gibb Street to help present awards to more than 50 of Selco’s branch team members who had completed nationally recognised qualifications.

The vast majority of the graduates came from the first phase of Selco’s Rising Stars scheme, a management training programme designed in conjunction with training provider Realise to enhance the careers of colleagues.

Other Selco team members recognised at the ceremony included those who had completed Selco’s Driver Academy, which offers people the chance to retrain and become fully qualified HGV drivers.

In total, 90 Selco employees have completed apprenticeships during the pandemic, with more than 60 per cent of those already rewarded with promotions.

A number of the graduates came from Selco’s West Midlands operations which includes branches in Wolverhampton and Dudley.

Mr Street, the former managing director of John Lewis who presented the awards alongside Selco chief executive Howard Luft, said: “Having a background in retail myself, it is a real thrill to see Selco committed to training and developing its people locally to help them move to the next level and create a great career for themselves.

“The scheme implemented by Selco demonstrates the value of apprenticeship and training programmes - both for the employer and the employee – and a huge congratulations must go to all of the graduates. Selco’s work is not only a great vote of confidence in the region’s workforce, but also supports my 100,000 jobs plan as we look to bounce back from the impact of the pandemic.”

Marc Lucock, HR director at Selco Builders Warehouse, said: “The graduation was a fantastic event enjoyed by all and a fitting way to celebrate the hard work of our colleagues who have been rewarded for all their efforts over the last 12 to 18 months.

“Having the West Midlands Mayor in attendance provided additional prestige on the day and we are delighted our Rising Stars programme has got off to such a successful start.

“The idea behind Rising Stars is to give a high number of branch colleagues the chance to enhance their skillset and leave them well-positioned to progress their careers with Selco.

“We’re using our Apprenticeship Levy contributions to fund the scheme and we are utilising a course with a high level of practical elements, which means that our colleagues are putting into practice their learnings on a day-to-day basis.

“We have already begun the silver and gold phase of the programme – which is training branch deputy managers and managers of the future – and we are delighted to be offering colleagues a chance to create a genuine career path and providing them with the skills, techniques and self-development to progress.”