Director at PSA, Jimmy Dobson demonstrates how prioritising staff training and development is helping the next generation of employees to excel.
Pettit Singleton Associates (PSA) are one of the North West’s largest Building Services Engineering Practices, with 38 employees across two offices located on Preston Docklands and at Warwick Bridge, Carlisle.
Director Jimmy Dobson, values staff training and development which is embedded in the company’s philosophy. Jimmy said: “Our ethos and culture are built on having the best in class who will join our mission to help our clients achieve success. Training and development ensure our overall competence to deliver this. By nurturing our people from the trainee level, they can grow with us.”
To date, they have had 22 employees complete the Degree Apprenticeship, with all of them contributing positively to the success and growth of the business. The business first contacted the University in 1990, and the relationship has gone from strength to strength. Bringing in apprentices allows PSA to shape and develop their skills from an early stage, instilling the company's values and their expected level of excellence and quality.
Building Services and Sustainable Engineering learner, Sam Kelly, commenced his apprenticeship within a few weeks of employment with PSA. Sam said: “My employer told me about the Degree Apprenticeship at an interview and within a couple of weeks of starting the new role I was given the information required to sign up for the course.”
"My employer told me about the Degree Apprenticeship at an interview and within a couple of weeks of starting the new role I was given the information required to sign up for the course"
— Building Services and Sustainable Engineering Degree Apprentice Sam Kelly
Sam also provides insight into the facilities on offer at the University of Central Lancashire. “We have access to labs which have real-life building services appliances such as heat pumps and ventilation systems so that we can understand how the systems work with visual representation as opposed to just learning on a screen.”
Degree Apprenticeships have brought added value to the business by providing a fresh outlook on projects alongside employees with long-term practical experience. The company has seen an improvement in project output and problem-solving between team members. Jimmy adds: “The younger workforce brings a good energy to the office.”
Regarding advice to prospective learners, current apprentice Sam said: “My advice for anyone who is considering a Degree Apprenticeship would be to properly manage their time to get all assignments finished before the deadlines to not let them build up and overwhelm you closer to the time of the deadline.”
"We would wholeheartedly recommend supporting employees through Degree Apprenticeships, for us it has meant we can achieve the level of quality and excellence that we want to deliver for our clients to reach their outcomes"
— Jimmy Dobson, Director at PSA
For any employers considering Degree Apprenticeships, Jimmy said:” We would wholeheartedly recommend supporting employees through Degree Apprenticeships, for us it has meant we can achieve the level of quality and excellence that we want to deliver for our clients to reach their outcomes. We not only support Degree Apprenticeships, but we also regularly have work experience pupils from local schools and have recently investigated the hosting of T Level students from the local colleges to join us for their placements.”
Supporting the next generation and educating them on a career in Building Services is important to the business. Having employees on the Degree Apprenticeship is supported through their own internal PSA Academy and the two go hand in hand to develop strong future engineers for the company.
Looking forward, Jimmy adds: "We will continue to work closely with the University and develop our trainees through their Degree Apprenticeship programmes, ensuring a robust talent pipeline for the future."
