Gold status for adi Group as it extends commitment to young futures

A leading Midlands-based engineering firm has been recognised for its work in building young futures with a new award from a government-backed accreditation.

And the badge highlights the firm as one of Britain’s brightest businesses investing in the STEM skills agenda.

Birmingham-headquartered adi Group has received the new Gold Award from The 5% Club, introduced this year as an employer benchmarking programme from the business organisation.

In the inaugural year of the 5% club’s new scheme, adi was one of just 58 employers in the UK who met the Gold Standard, validating the firm’s approach to careers quality, social mobility, diversity and inclusion.

Showcasing those that are excelling at providing a number of ‘earn and learn’ opportunities for young people across a number of industry sectors, adi’s Gold Award is the highest honour bracket, recognising that at least 5% of its 700-strong workforce is made up of apprentices.

“We are delighted to be recognised among Britain’s brightest skills leaders,” said adi Group CEO Alan Lusty.

“adi was born with a commitment to engineer a better future for all, and that begins first with our people. We want to empower them, encourage them to get involved and explain why their job matters.

“Young people will be the ones tasked with engineering the future of tomorrow, so it makes sense for us to offer a vital foothold and a highly rewarding career pathway for their development.

“Our business recognises the potential they hold, and we look forward to continuing to provide a platform that will help Britain’s post-COVID-19 skills fightback.”

The adi Group currently runs two separate apprenticeship platforms for budding young engineers to get involved in.

In September 2016, it launched the UK’s first pre-apprenticeship scheme for 14-16 year olds, revolutionising the future of STEM education in the UK and tackling a nationwide deficit in high-quality apprenticeships.

In the years since its inception, it has offered over 60 skilled spots for young people, with the scheme attracting attention from regional figureheads such as West Midlands Mayor Andy Street, prestigious organisations such as the Women’s Engineering Society and even former Prime Minister Theresa May.

The scheme also managed to operate safely throughout the pandemic, offering youngsters skilled placement opportunities, at a time when many firms were pulling the plug through financial difficulties.

Elsewhere, the business also runs its Apprentice Academy, with in-house on the job training designated to building the engineers of tomorrow.

“Our two schemes hit key development points,” said adi Group strategic account director James Sopwith.

“Alongside a traditional apprenticeship, we also try to help younger students understand the rewarding career pathways available through engineering, dispelling myths around our industry whilst they are in education.

“We find it helps to laser focus minds, both solidifying our recruitment pipeline as well as giving youngsters a competitive advantage in a tough jobs market later in life.”

Discussing adi’s Gold status honour alongside fellow awardees, Mark Cameron OBE, chief executive at The 5% Club said:

“We set out to create a scheme that recognises the efforts of all those employers who invest in their workforce through a broad range of workplace learning schemes.

“It is fantastic that in these challenging times so many are able to commit to the Employer Audit and to gain the credit for their efforts, and that the majority are striving to expand their schemes over the coming years. Their efforts and achievements are to be applauded.”

The multi-disciplinary adi Group joined The 5% Club in 2016, tying into its strategic recruitment objectives alongside the launch of its innovative pre-apprentice scheme.

Today, the business operates in 12 UK regional locations, with over 700 employees committed to delivering full turnkey solutions to some of the world’s biggest brands.