Luxury boat builders Princess Yachts has a long and flourishing history of providing Apprenticeship programmes which give people the opportunity to thrive. Working closely with City College Plymouth, the company has established a Marine Academy for Apprenticeship training courses in the Marine Skills Centre at the College’s Picquet campus.
The company – which celebrates its 60th year this year – is proud to have seen numerous City College apprentices go on to occupy senior positions within the organisation, including at managerial and board level. Amongst that number is Hayley Spencer, who is Princess Yachts’ Apprenticeship Training Manager.
A former City College apprentice, Hayley is a huge advocate for the training programmes, and believes they have played a key role in the Princess story. “We are living proof of the benefits of Apprenticeships,” she says. “They are a brilliant way of attracting and retaining talent locally. We are still based in the city where we began life all those years ago, so it is vital that we tap into the pool of local talent and give people the chance to progress while our business continues to grow and innovate.
“From beginning life in a shed to establishing a reputation for building yachts with breathtaking craftsmanship and exceptional attention to detail, the relationship with the College has to include an innate understanding of the standards Princess sets on all levels. We work closely with the College to ensure they mirror our values, our health and safety standards, and our teaching and working environment as closely as possible while still delivering the training that the apprentices need.”
There are currently four core Apprenticeships within the programme that offer marine and maritime skills – marine engineering, carpentry boat building, composite technicians and fabrication and welding. Apprentices are full-time at City College in their first year, with the remainder of the Apprenticeship being three days a week at work and one at the College. The Academy provides facilities where the apprentices can learn and practise. The College has worked relentlessly to provide the best training facilities for the marine and maritime sector and has a firm commitment to enhance Plymouth’s reputation as Britain’s ocean city nationally and internationally.
Hayley added: “A huge benefit for us is that the facilities at Picquet have been developed especially for us, and we had an input into how best to utilise the building for the benefit of the apprentices. It’s still evolving all the time, so the College can be flexible and adapt to fit what we need. This means the facilities the apprentices have reflect real life, so they feel like they are actually working on a yacht rather than in a workshop. That can only happen because the College is willing to innovate, and it’s important because the standard of the Apprenticeship really mirrors life within Princess.”
To maintain this high quality, regular and open communication is necessary, with the Princess and College teams meeting every week, achievable because they are so close to each other.
