Protak Scientific Ltd. Case Study
The Apprenticeship & Skills Hub team have been established in North Hampshire & Surrey for over one whole year now and within that period have provided significant support to a wide range of businesses. One such business is Protak Scientific Ltd. Protak Scientific Ltd are a small Pharmaceutical Technology company based in Redhill, Surrey. The company have been operational with just a small team for a little over five years, but recently took on their first apprentice, with the support of the Apprenticeship & Skills Hub.
“At Protak Scientific we have routine operations and project work that requires a significant amount of training focused on scientific principles. The benefit for us in having an apprentice was being able to balance the repetitive but critical activities for the business with providing the employee the opportunity to put the theory learnt throughout the University Course into practice. This has huge benefit to the Apprentice not only within their apprenticeship, but also in their future career path by exposure to aspects of Microbiology, Engineering & Validation within the life science industry.
A key benefit for us was also to be able to ensure a level of retention with this role, which also translates into job security for Kiran throughout the 3-year programme.” Said Kate Marshall, Global Projects Manager of Protak Scientific Ltd.
Upon completion of an Organisational Needs Analysis, Carol Greaves an Apprenticeship & Skills Hub adviser, identified that the most suitable skills programme, based on Protak’s needs, would be a Level 5 Technician Scientist that could support the team with their daily running and growth ambitions. A level 5 apprenticeship is a higher apprenticeship, equivalent to a degree, and will therefore provide apprentices with a deep understanding of the chosen area.
Kiran, Protak’s new apprentice said: “This apprenticeship is a great opportunity for me as it gives me experience in a working environment and insight on how the industry works, as well as getting a qualification at the same time. It’s a good way to work with great people who offer support in both on the job training and the academic side.”
Protak’s Apprentice, KiranSpeaking on their experience with the Apprenticeship & Skills Hub, Protak said: “From our first introduction call with the Apprenticeship & Skills Hub, we were fully supported through the process. This included a selection of the right apprenticeship level, aligned to the job description, setup of our DAS account (even including which buttons to press!) and all additional resources and applications that were available to us.
We were also successful in our application to secure Apprenticeship Levy funding through the Transfer to Transform scheme which we would not have been aware of if it were not for Carol and the Apprenticeship & Skills Hub’s support. We are now actively looking at where we can use apprenticeships for our next recruitment as a result of this support.”
If you would like to learn more about the support available to your business through the Apprenticeship & Skills Hub, contact the team at ASH@hants.gov.uk or learn more over on our website: www.theapprenticeshiphub.com or social media.