More pet companies should consider apprenticeship schemes to help them thrive. That’s the view of Mat Priestley, who has seen his business Dogs Play Daycare grow significantly after adopting a traineeship programme.
Dogs Play Daycare has been ranked 13 as one of the Top 50 SME Apprenticeship Employers, recognised for the quality of their programmes.
Mat spoke to Pet Trade Xtra about why his company invested in these training and employment schemes and how they helped the business to develop.
When was Dogs Play Daycare established as a business?
Dogs Play Daycare started trading in June 2015.
Can you share more information about your employees at Dogs Play Daycare and the various training schemes they’re involved in?
As we are licensed, like all dog daycares in the UK, we need staff qualified to work in the animal care industries or staff working towards an animal care qualification. We currently employ six full-time staff and six apprentices, 10 of those are working towards animal care qualifications.
Why did Dogs Play Daycare decide to invest in these training and employment schemes?
Primarily, we wanted to have a measured and measurable foundation of knowledge for all the team which provides us with a benchmark standard. This helps us do more bespoke training and ensures we meet the requirements needed to maintain our license. Additionally, it helps us develop a set of procedures that keep the team and our customers safe, whilst also keeping the business strong as we are always moving forward and developing our capabilities.
How Dogs Play Daycare benefit from these training and employment schemes like apprenticeships?
The Animal Care sector is growing in the UK and since 2018, the Animal Welfare Act has required that those working in this sector being Animal Care qualified. These changes are important in keeping the industry safe and ethical, but it has meant that a skills gap developed. We have known the business attracts people looking for their first job and so the majority of applicants are entry-level and don’t have qualifications. However, the Level 2 Animal Care apprenticeship fills this gap perfectly. We get the opportunity to bring people into our business who aren’t qualified, and we can upskill them on the job. This means we have a team who are skilled in the way we need them to be, and we can shape them to fit our business needs. On a wider level, it also helps to bridge the gap for the employee from school to the workplace.
How do your employees benefit from your training program?
We have noticed a theme amongst our team, past and present, that many tend to have found traditional school and learning in a formal environment difficult – it hasn’t suited them. The apprenticeship scheme opens up a different way of learning – which still leads to a qualification, and it is in a workplace environment which sets them up for future employment and or learning. This is a great confidence boost – it’s great to watch individuals flourish in the process. Not only do we help them achieve their qualification in Animal Care, but we try to give them skills for future life. For instance, self-appraisals and communication training are two areas in which we try to provide additional support to our team.
You recently ranked 13th as one of the Top 50 SME Apprenticeship Employers, what does this mean to you and your business?
We are really pleased to be ranked 13th as one of the Top 50 SME Apprenticeship Employers, for 2024 and to be recognised for our hard work as a business. It also reflects our team's dedication to the role which led them to achieve their distinction grades. Our customers have also fed back that they also love that we spend time formally training the team, and it gives them confidence in the service we offer. We’ve also built links with the community as we’ve worked with local schools to find future candidates to help us plan further out, which is mutually beneficial.
What do you think made you stand out to perform so highly as an apprentice employer – what makes the work you do different?
We integrate the apprenticeship qualification into our business processes fully, which has been a real game changer. By working and collaborating with our provider, we have broken the qualification down into 10 modules and our provider comes in-house to do all the learning and reviews. We found this to be a helpful approach by offering additional “off job” and “on job” learning, which looks at each module of the qualification through the lens of the business and the customer. Each apprentice gets to experience a way of learning that works for them.
Why do you think it's important for businesses to consider training schemes and apprenticeships?
We feel apprenticeships offer the opportunity for businesses to bring people in that can offer a fresh perspective on our business processes and how we operate, whilst offering a commercially beneficial foundation qualification and training framework that keeps employees engaged.
Do you have any advice or tips for other SMEs looking to offer apprenticeships and training schemes?
Yes, my top tips are:
- Look up The Department for Education’s (DfE) Skills for Life campaign website, which provides training and employment scheme information for employers.
- Pick a training provider that wants to work within your business as a partner, so you can align on how best to deliver the qualification for both the learner and the business.
- Integrate the qualification into what you do and how you do it, this makes ‘off job’ learning hours part of what you do and not an additional cost to the business.
- Breaking down the qualification into modules makes it easier to see where individuals are struggling and need extra support, which in turn helps reduce dropout rates.
For those interested in learning more about how apprenticeships can benefit their business click here.
