Apprenticeships, Learning and Development at Wickes
Learning and Development is important at Wickes. We caught up with some of our amazing L&D team to find out more. Here is what they had to say.
What is the ambition of L&D at Wickes?
Our ambition is to create engaging learning for everyone. From the moment a colleague starts their Wickes journey, we want to make their learning as relevant & impactful as possible. By working collaboratively with the business, we are seeking new ways to be able to achieve our goal of creating an accessible learning experience for all. We want everyone to be excited to learn and develop their existing skills as well as being curious to explore new ways to unlock their potential.
What is the focus of L&D and Early Careers?
We want to better understand the learning needs of our colleagues and enable them to truly own their development. We are creating simple development pathways that will support great development conversations & ensure individuals are choosing the right learning tools for them . This could be one of our talent programmes, an apprenticeship or a ‘learn by self’ resource. We want to identify any gaps that we have so that we are not just focusing on what is needed now, but are also ready for the skills needed for the future.
How does it help colleagues? Who can benefit?
We know that choosing the right development option can be tricky, so we are here to help and point you in the right direction.
We recently invited colleagues to complete a learning survey on their learning needs and preferences. By listening to our colleagues, we can evolve our offer to include more relevant learning sessions, delivered in the right way at the right time. It won’t be achieved overnight, but you can help us to take what we do in the right direction.
What are some of the programmes
We partnered with the BRC (British Retail Consortium) to create 3 new Talent programmes and launched the first one last year. Whether you are in your first management role or further on in your career, each programme provides a unique experience to learn from others, build connections, try out new ideas and have an opportunity to pause & reflect.
The first cohort are nearing the end of the programme and have worked incredibly hard. While working on their own development they have also worked as a team to support the business in choosing our next Charity Partner. Later, this month we are launching the next two programmes and are excited to see how we can support our leaders
Continually reviewing the content, style and approach of our programmes will be key to their success
We would love to hear from you and answer any questions that you might have. You can also check The Campus for updates on our programmes.
