Landlord recognised as one of the best employers

A social housing company from the North East has managed to land a prestigious employment award and is delighted and proud to have been named as one of the best apprenticeship employers throughout the United Kingdom.

Derwentside Homes have been named as a Top 100 Apprenticeship Employer by the NAS (National Apprenticeship Service), a reward for investing in 100 apprentices in just five years. The news comes after the social landlord was a runner up in the North East Medium Employer of the Year awards earlier this year.

The social landlord has over 6,700 homes across County Durham and they employ 223 people which include almost 100 who are dedicated to maintaining the properties. Since it was formed the social landlord has been committed to working with communities to provide both employment and training opportunities. The initiative has not only proved popular with tenants and employees it has helped the company to cut costs in several areas including landlord insurance quotes.

Geraldine Wilcox, chief executive of Derwentside Homes, said “This is an incredible achievement and we are extremely proud of everyone involved in our apprenticeship programme. We are committed to supporting and investing in the communities we serve to ensure they remain places where people want to live, work and invest. One of our main aims is to make a positive difference to people’s lives and apprenticeships achieve this by offering meaningful employment in a structured way. It is a real pleasure to see our apprentices’ progress through the organisation, fulfil their ambitions and develop new skills and training.”

The NAS list includes organisations of all sizes and hopes to highlight the benefits of apprenticeships to employers. The current Derwentside Homes apprentices are working across all sections of the organisation which include administration and bricklaying. The landlord plans to continue offering apprenticeships and hopes to stay in the top 100 list in the coming years.

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