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Waste Management Firm Near Portsmouth Takes On First Apprentice In 17 Years
| Author: annahowelll | Published: 20th April 2012 13:54 |
Luke Haskell, waste management specialist TJ's first apprentice.
An expanding waste management specialist near Portsmouth has hired its first apprentice.
Luke Haskell, 19, has already made a positive impact at the TJ Group in his role as a marketing and sales assistant by reaching out to new customers through social media.
The former South Downs College student, who lives at Cowplain, near Portsmouth, is having his NVQ in business administration paid for by the 100-strong company.
TJ was established by Terry ‘TJ' Higgins 17 years ago as a sole trader, starting out in Havant with a portable cabin, a telephone, a contacts book and hired lorries.
Since then the business, headquartered in Wickham Road, Fareham, has transformed into a major independent player in a sector that contributes £5.5 billion to the UK economy and employs 140,000 people.
With a £14m turnover and servicing 3,000 businesses along the M27 and A3 corridors in Hampshire and Sussex, TJ provides waste management, haulage and workplace recycling services, as well as wheelie bin and skip hire to the public and trade.
John Gosling, TJ's operations director, said: "Quality apprentices, and the role they play in helping firms develop, have been very much on the national agenda recently, including regionally with The News.
"We wondered if we were missing a trick and Luke, as a ‘digital native', has already exceeded our expectations by evolving our online presence to generate new sales. He is very much a productive part of the team, with ideas and drive."
Luke, who is with Portsmouth-based training provider PETA, said: "It's great to working with the TJ Group as part of my vocational learning - the mentoring I'm getting is first-class, with excellent learning opportunities. The reality of business is a real eye-opener because nothing can be taken for granted and there is no room for complacency here."
The teenager is part of a growing band of apprentices in the UK.
Latest figures show that, from August 2011 to January 2012, which is the first half of the 2011/12 academic year, more than 256,500 people started an apprenticeship in the UK, including 77,100 aged 19 to 24.
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