BMW Group employs over 8,000 staff in the UK, with BMW Group Financial Services providing its customers with finance for both new and used cars, and its retailers with commercial finance.
The responses below have been provided by Julie Holland, HR consultant and Matt Barclay, internal sales manager - who has been working with the apprentices.
Why did BMW start employing motor finance specialist apprentices?
Our business identified that we were finding it hard to recruit for certain roles in Operations, such as Collections Advisors. The Motor Finance Specialist apprenticeship gave us the opportunity to recruit and develop apprentices into these roles giving us a talent pipeline ready to fill future vacancies across the business.
What benefits has the apprenticeship brought to your business?
We have been able to offer all four of our original apprentices permanent roles in the business. They have contributed to their teams in many ways and have shown that with the right attitude, they can be a valuable asset to the organisation. They have also helped longer serving employees realise what can be done with some fresh insight into their areas.
How does your apprenticeship programme work and what training is provided?
Our training provider Calibre Group, provide the programme support and material. The apprentices are assigned a mentor who comes on-site and meets with the apprentice every 4-6 weeks to help coach them through their assignments, which are all delivered through their on-line portal. They use their allocated 20% of training time to complete their assignments and are also provided with other development opportunites, both on-the-job and formal classroom. They will spend time in each area across the business to get a full understanding of each department and develop to develop their competencies.
Are apprenticeships part of wider recruitment/careers/training activity?
The apprentice programme forms part of our Future Talent strategy, that also includes Interns and Work Experience for students. This is all with the aim of developing a talent pipeline for the future and providing the business with some diversity of thought.
Are you looking to employ more motor finance specialist apprentices in future?
Yes, we would look to continue with this programme in the future.
You can read more about two of BMW's motor finance specialist apprentices by clicking on their names below: