Kettering firm helps apprentices move up the career ladder

To mark National Apprenticeship Week earlier this month (March 4 to 8) NAHL Group, owner of National Accident Helpline, has launched its Learning Academy and enrolled 11 members of staff on its first apprenticeship programmes.

Six will complete legal apprenticeships with CILEx Law School and five will take on customer service apprenticeships with training provider Futures for Business.

The new Learning Academy will give learning and development opportunities to staff at the companies within NAHL Group’s personal injury division. These include National Accident Helpline, which employs 132 people at its offices in Kettering Parkway, and National Accident Law, a new law firm which will open its doors in April.

Katy Philpin is completing a paralegal apprenticeship while working as a Legal and Compliance Officer at National Accident Helpline. She said: “I think an apprenticeship is a great way to learn new skills while continuing to work. That’s great because it means I will be able to gain a new qualification, which will create opportunities, without having to take a career break.”

Emma Walker, who is also starting out on a paralegal apprenticeship, said: “My course will cover legal, client care and workplace skills. I started out in the Legal Support Centre taking calls from customers, which gave me a good grounding in customer service, so I’m looking forward to gaining more legal and workplace skills.

“When I complete the course, it will mean that I could take on a Senior Paralegal role, and my ambition is to get into litigation and be an advocate in court one day.”

As well as providing apprenticeships, the Learning Academy will make use of technology such as podcasts and webinars to help staff in various teams to learn and develop their skills.

NAHL Group’s Learning and Development Manager Samantha Warner said: “We know from listening to our people that training, learning and developing their skills motivates them, so we created the Learning Academy to offer them more opportunities.

“We pride ourselves on being different to other legal sector businesses by placing the same high level of importance on customer care as we do on legal expertise, and our apprenticeship schemes will only strengthen that offering further.

“It is an exciting milestone to appoint our very first group of apprentices and we hope to extend our range of apprenticeships later this year to offer opportunities in areas including marketing and IT.”

Jenny Pelling, Director of Business and Apprenticeships at CILEx Law School, said: “Undertaking an apprenticeship offers an alternative route into Law and gives apprentices an excellent, practical start to their budding legal careers.

“We wish the six new legal apprentices the very best and we look forward to working with them to help them learn and grow.”

The apprentices will have access to tools and online resources to help with their learning, including access to legal platform LexisNexis.

National Accident Helpline was recently named as one of the Sunday Times’ Top 100 Small Businesses To Work For and received the Gold standard from Investors in People last year.

Visit www.national-accident-helpline.co.uk for more information.