At Hannells, we’re passionate about giving back to a fantastic local community which has served us so well for well over a decade…

Our fantastic partnership with Derby College means that local students have the opportunity to get a taste of the real world of work and a brilliant platform to develop some essential life skills to help them reach their full potential.

On Tuesday, Hannells representatives, Victoria Downing and Benjamin Brain, were on hand at Derby College to meet and greet with the Further Education Commission who were visiting the College to find out more about the scheme with a view to rolling it out across more colleges and sixth forms.

Victoria Downing, Hannells Area Manager, said “We’re really proud to be a part of this scheme. We jumped at the chance to create an Academy with the College and we’re delighted to be helping local students gain some invaluable experience in the workplace. We’ve taken on a number of apprentices through the scheme so far and they’ve been involved in all sorts, from attending property viewings to designing promotional materials. It’s really paid off for us too as we’ve been able to identify and develop young talent and we’ve actually taken on board two full time employees from last year’s group.”

They were joined by first year BTEC business student Madison and second year BTEC business student Charlotte who have both applied to join the Hannells Academy after Joint Managing Director, Michael Brain, recently presented to the students and demonstrated what being an estate agent is all about.

Throughout the morning, the team was visited by over 150 delegates who asked a number of questions about the pioneering scheme which is now in place with a number of fantastic local businesses, giving students “once in a lifetime” opportunities to fast-track their post-education careers.

Other Derby employers who had turned out to promote the Academy scheme included Huub Design, Seven Bar & Restaurant, Cricket Derbyshire Sports Academy and First Response Finance.

To find out more about the pioneering Employer Academy Scheme visit, www.derby-college.ac.uk.

Photo credits – Alex Cantrill-Jones @ ACJ Media