The talent question behind every growth plan, and how apprenticeships answer it

As part of National Apprenticeship Week 2026, our Director of Building Services, Joss Williams, shares our perspective on apprenticeships as a practical, future-focused growth strategy, helping us build the capability we will need for the next phase of the business.

Used well, apprenticeships are one of the most practical answers to the skills gap in building services

That matters because the industry is changing. As competency requirements tighten, we need engineers who are properly trained, not only experienced.

Apprenticeships produce a more rounded skill set than informal on-site progression alone, pairing real-world delivery with the underpinning theory needed to understand how building systems work together. For us, training is not just a nice-to-have, it is the pillar that underpins how we work.

At Arcade, our five-year vision is that by 2030 we will be a £30 million business and a market leader trusted for quality, integrity and reliability. Apprenticeships already make up a third of our workforce and are playing a key role in achieving that business aim. They support us to increase our capability, build our culture, bring a new and positive energy to our workplace, and create long-term resilience for the business.

We did not get here by accident. We want to be an industry-leader for bringing apprentices on board, helping them to help us.

Apprenticeships have always been part of our growth strategy. Where once we might have needed subcontractors to deliver specialist elements on a particular project, we can now develop teams with an in-house lead engineer and an apprentice supporting them. We have done so by making a conscious decision to invest in ourselves so we can provide all the tools and support required to discover the engineers of tomorrow.

As part of that strategy, we’ve partnered with BESA Group Seed Programme to raise awareness of engineering careers to the next generation, visiting schools and universities to showcase the full range of work we do.

Our vision is that our apprentices will grow with us, fully understanding the culture and the way we work, and who can progress with us as the business scales. Put simply, apprentices are at the heart of our company and we are proud to help our people progress their careers with us.

It’s a view held by BESA Group. Their Director of Competence & Compliance, Jill Nicholls, said: “Our industry is in need of a new generation of skilled workers required to keep our industry thriving. Introducing an apprenticeship scheme will help both your business and the sector as a whole in meeting the growing need for building services across the country, be it installing air conditioning or building entire heat networks.

Apprentices: designing a workforce for growth

One of the biggest shifts in apprenticeships has been the move from reliance to capability.

Before, a lot of apprenticeships were in traditional and popular roles such as pipe fitting or electrical, but now apprenticeships are more specific. At Arcade, we offer lesser-known opportunities including building services engineers which are critical roles to support how all buildings operate. With supporting education underpinning apprenticeship courses, apprentices learn the appropriate theory and skills needed to support them in their work - from ventilation and air conditioning to heating and other critical systems, and how they all fit together. For us at Arcade, we are developing people who can flex their skills between industrial and commercial work.

Apprentices have significant business benefits too. By building in-house teams around a lead engineer with an apprentice alongside them, we are becoming less reliant on subcontractors, improving profitability, and giving customers what they want: a partner that has the tools to do the job and completes the work with its own people.

Building the pipeline

For apprenticeships to work, partnership relationships are a must.

When starting out, it could be overwhelming to know how to begin, however there is financial support and help available from the government. Our approach was to find training partners through resources such as the City and Guilds website, as well as approaching multiple providers, working with the most responsive to bring apprentices into our business.

Since then, we have developed strong working relationships with Cambridge Regional College, who support the building services and electrical apprenticeship routes. They help match people to the right courses, assist us with candidates and invite us to local careers fairs.

Alongside colleges, we have also invested time in going into schools to talk to pupils in Year 11 and A level students, to explain the different routes into the industry and to broaden perceptions of what engineering careers can look like, including not only tools-based roles but also design and project management.

Presenting our offer to schools and colleges

Apprenticeships at Arcade are not limited to one discipline. We have apprentices across building services, electrical, plumbing, heating and cooling, service and maintenance, as well as supporting development routes into design engineering and project management.

But it is not only school and college leavers who join us, we have also begun developing links with universities, with one of our apprentice design engineers studying at London South Bank University and an apprentice project manager studying for a degree at the University of Bedfordshire.

This breadth matters because the industry is changing. Apprenticeships produce a more rounded skill set than learning purely through informal on-site progression, and as competency requirements tighten, that becomes essential for the workforce. They also develop discipline in reporting and documentation, fundamental for management teams and customers, building further confidence in the work we deliver.

Why apprenticeships work:

According to figures from the Department for Education Apprenticeship Evaluation survey:

· Over three quarters (77%) of employers reported an improvement in productivity

· 88% felt their career prospects had improved since starting their apprenticeship

· 94% of apprentices felt they gained skills relevant to their desired area of work or transferable across jobs/industries.

BESA is also intent on supporting the sector to grow its apprenticeship offer. Jill Nicholls added: “Taking on an apprentice can improve how you work, increasing productivity and profits, and ensure a succession plan is in place to secure the future of the business.”

As a proud employer of apprentices, we are developing talent, growing our business, supporting local education, and investing in our community.

The long view: apprentices as the future leadership team

The most important outcome apprenticeships create is not just skills, it’s succession. And we are already planning for our future.

We refer to our services as providing the heart and lungs of every building and our apprentices are becoming the heartbeat of our company. Since 2024, we have increased the number of apprentices by 600%.

Our growth plan is to expand Arcade to 100 members of staff by 2030, and apprentices will be fundamental part. Our aim is to have a team of 30 to 40 apprentices over the next three to four years.

Apprentices already make up 30% of our workforce and those we have today will hopefully be the directors in 15 years. To support this aim, we are developing programmes to identify rising stars and build our next management team.

Apprenticeships are not just a side project. They are a strategic driver for growth, culture, customer confidence, and long-term capability. Because when apprenticeships work, they do not just create jobs. They create the skilled, confident workforce the sector needs now and in the future.

If you are a student, parent, teacher, or training partner who wants to understand what our apprenticeships can unlock, we would love to talk.