Princes Risborough-based furniture manufacturer ercol is celebrating the success of its apprenticeship scheme and its older workforce.

The company, which currently has 19 apprentices and has been in operation for more than 100 years, has 56% of its workforce made up of over 50s – many of whom came through its apprenticeship programme.

Roy Graves, Technical Support Manager at ercol, is “extremely proud” of the company’s commitment to valuing their older staff, commenting: “We’re reliant on the skills and experience that the older person brings. So much so that 56% of our staff are over 50. We are also aware of the problems that come with an ageing workforce.

“This is the main reason why we look to the apprenticeship programme for support. A large portion of our adult based workforce have originally come through our apprenticeship scheme (16 of our current over 50s have completed an apprenticeship with ercol) and we’re proud to still have them as part of the team as they’re able to pass on their knowledge and experience to the next generation of ercol workers.”

One employee, Brian Snelling, commenced his career at ercol with an apprenticeship in polishing and has been with the company for almost 40 years and is currently a Production Manager. He said: “Growing up, I had several part time jobs all throughout school and studied around the corner from where ercol was located.

“I had family and friends working in the factory, so it felt like the natural course for me to join ercol when the Chief Training Officer, at the time, visited my school. I completed an apprenticeship in Polishing for three years and enjoyed the practical side of the learning.

“Eager to upskill further, I then undertook a further two-year course in Advanced Polishing. 37 years later, I now come from a family of apprentices as not only did my wife also complete an apprenticeship at ercol in the sewing department, my three children all followed in our footsteps and undertook apprenticeships in their respective fields.”