FLOORCARE brand Vax is creating an apprenticeship academy at its new operating centre at Stonebridge Cross, near Droitwich.

The Vax Academy has been set up give young people the opportunity to work for a market leading brand, while also achieving nationally recognised,

professional qualifications.

Working in partnership with national skills training specialists, the National Sales Academy, Vax is inviting 16-18 year olds to apply to become an

apprentice at its customer contact centre. Starting in September, successful apprentices will receive on-the-job training, plus continuous professional and personal development through Vax’s structured mentoring and career progression programmes. At the same time as learning practical, work-related skills and gaining business experience, they will work towards an NVQ level two qualification in customer service in their first year, with the potential to gain an NVQ level two in sales in year two.

Kirsty Lister, the firm's head of HR, said: "The Vax Academy gives young people a great chance to get a foot on the ladder, earning money while working towards professional qualifications. Research shows that qualified apprentices earn £150,000 more over their lifetime than their peers who fail to

take a workplace learning route, so schemes like these provide a valuable investment in their future.

“Our new apprentices will learn very quickly that any job requires hard work, commitment and a positive attitude, but we also believe that it is really important that people enjoy coming to work. We therefore invest in our people through ongoing learning and development and numerous reward

schemes. As a progressive company with ambition, Vax is always looking for ways to innovate the floorcare market and develop our brand, so we’re keen to develop our talented employees to grow with the company."

With more than 200 new job roles created at Vax since 2011, the company’s meteoric growth has secured its place as a leading employer in the West Midlands region. For the past two years, it has been named a Times Top 100 best company to work for and has been included in theJobCrowd.com’s top 100 graduate employers list.