Hambleton professional development business makes the grade for apprenticeships

One of North Yorkshire’s highest-rated professional development training businesses is expanding further and taking on new staff thanks to its latest industry accreditation as it celebrates its third anniversary.

Bespoke Professional Development and Training (BePro), based in Stokesley, has become one of the only training companies in Hambleton to offer apprenticeships in professional qualifications.

BePro is now an approved provider on the Register of Apprenticeships Training Providers (RoATP), having passed a rigorous assessment based on quality of delivery and teaching standards, surpassing many larger training providers in the area who failed to meet necessary criteria.

From May 1^st, organisations delivering apprenticeship training need to be listed on the register, which shows that they have been through an application process with the Government’s Skills Funding Agency looking at aspects including due diligence, quality and financial health to assess their capability to deliver high-quality apprenticeship training.

BePro is eligible to offer apprenticeships up to degree level in a range of subjects including customer service, business administration, education and training, recruitment, HR, team-leading and operational management.

The apprenticeships are available to anyone at any stage in their career aged 16 or over and a number of funding options are available for students and employers. As with all of BePro’s courses, all of the qualifications benefit from some of the professional service industry’s highest accreditations respected by employers.

BePro was launched in 2014 by Georgina Selmi, from Great Broughton near Stokesley, to provide tailored and flexible professional development qualifications and is accredited by the CIPD (Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development) and CMI (Chartered Institute of Management). Having launched with just Georgina, joined by her Mum Val Swales, the company now employs a team of seven and is currently recruiting more teachers and assessors for its training centres in Stokesley, Middlesbrough and York.

BePro delivers courses at its HQ at Terry Dicken Business Park in Stokesley, Teesside University in Middlesbrough, at York St John University and in-house at individual business premises around Teesside and North Yorkshire.

Georgina and Val have decades of experience in delivering professional development training at colleges and universities throughout the North East and work with a team of professionals who have worked in the sector for many years.

BePro’s clients include North Yorkshire County Council, the NHS, York City Council, Mersen UK and Greencore.

Georgina said: “Being accepted onto the new Register of Apprenticeships Training Providers is a huge accolade for us as other, larger training organisations failed to pass the assessment process. As a result, there are very few providers of these professional development apprenticeships across the Teesside and North Yorkshire areas.

“Apprenticeships are a great option for young people these days- just look at former apprentices like Jamie Oliver, David Beckham and Stella McCartney- as they complete their training with practical, hands-on experience and a highly-regarded qualification. What’s more they earn while they learn and there are many funding options available that we can advise on.

“We’ve been working to quash some of the common myths surrounding apprenticeships and show that they are a real alternative to college or university. It’s a really positive move for BePro as a company as we continually strive to offer exceptional standards and grow our workforce to enhance employability across the region.”

A variety of learning options are available, including evening and weekends. For more information or to register interest visit http://beprodevelopment.co.uk/