Meet the Employer
8 March 2023
Greg Matheson, Heat Pump Installation Manager and Apprentice Co-ordinator at RI Cruden Ltd joins us during Scottish Apprenticeship Week 2023 to share his thoughts on how apprentices are unlocking potential in the business and how he’d encourage employers to invest in an apprenticeship programme.
How many apprentices do you have and what type of roles do they fulfil?
Currently we have 11 apprentices ranging from 1st year to 4th year. We offer a wide variety of apprenticeships with our current apprentices ranging between – plumbers, electricians, heating engineers and service and maintenance engineers.
How are apprentices unlocking potential for your business?
Apprentices are a great way of filling gaps in our business as with a structured training programme and they can provide knowledge and skills which can increase performance and productivity.
Why would you encourage other employers to invest in apprenticeships?
Apprenticeships allow us to tailor the workforce to meet the demands and requirements of the business. This in turn provides a skilled workforce for the future helping save valuable time and money on recruitment drives in years to come.
What’s it been like taking on apprentices?
Taking on apprentices and helping them on their journey through the apprenticeship scheme can be an extremely satisfying and rewarding process. Allowing them to expand and grow their skillsets to match our company demands, requirements and ambitions while going on to be fully qualified engineers the company can rely on is the end goal. We have been fortunate to have already experienced this with previous apprentices.
What advice would you give as an employer to another employer who is looking to take on an apprentice?
As a company we would always encourage other business to take on apprentices and make best use out of the apprenticeship scheme. The best advice we can offer is to put as much time and effort into the apprentice as possible and you should hopefully get the rewards in the future.
