Nne percent of Star’s total workforce are apprentices, and progression within the company is impressive as 23% of the current management team joined Star as an apprentice.

The engineering apprenticeship scheme offered by Star Refrigeration is 80% work-based learning with the remaining 20% spent at college. The four year course prepares apprentices for a long and stable career in the refrigeration engineering industry, and 99% of students are offered permanent positions on completion of their training.

Dave Bartlett, operations training manager of Star Refrigeration said, “We are proud to deliver one of the most successful apprenticeship schemes for aspiring engineers in the UK. For 46 years Star has understood the importance of apprentices, and as a result the company has benefited significantly while offering exceptional opportunities for young people. Apprenticeships are a fantastic way to start a career and as such are increasing in popularity – National Apprenticeship Week and Scottish Apprenticeship Week are a great opportunity to find out more.”

In recent years, many Star Refrigeration apprentices have been blazing their own trail and earning national recognition for their hard work. Sam Gills, an apprentice engineer based in Newcastle, was named ACR Apprentice of the Year in 2017 at the Trainee of the Year Awards and last year received the bronze medal award at the WorldSkills UK competition. Tom Woolston who joined Star as an apprentice in Bristol, has had a very exciting career to date. He won a silver prize for Student of the Year at the RAC Cooling Awards, and then received the ACR Apprentice of the Year accolade in 2018.

Throughout the week, Star Refrigeration will be promoting the benefits apprentices across all 9 UK branches bring to the business. From refrigeration engineering to business administration apprentices, from project management to manufacturing apprentices, all their stories will be shared across the business' social media platforms.

Star Refrigeration has been training industrial engineers of the future for 45 years and continues to attract the highest calibre of apprentices. One of the company’s core values is to ‘Develop Young People’, and its apprenticeship training scheme is one of the most sought after because of Star’s commitment to young talent.

Dave Bartlett added, “As employers it’s imperative that we see the potential and value in our young people. Our vision is to secure a better, sustainable future and to do that we need dedicated, hard working apprentices to be the next leaders.”