Career Development
Investing in talent
A company with global reach and ambition across diverse markets, James Cropper continues to invest in talent selection, training and education, an approach which helps build resilience and guarantee continuity of knowledge and expertise.
The company’s approach to building skills and talent can be seen at all levels. Our apprenticeship, trainee and graduate intake programmes underpin our initiatives to grow the company by nurturing new talent into our industry.
Everyone in our business benefits from our vision for leadership which not only delivers results but creates a rewarding environment for all of our employees. We believe that our people should play an active part in their establishing and developing their own career paths and goals and give them the resources and support to help them grow.
Apprenticeships
Many of our workforce have been with us all of their working careers, some celebrating 50 years of service, starting as a young apprentice and working their way up. This tradition continues, there are now over 30 employees who are in the process of, or have completed, apprenticeships across multiple disciplines including finance, marketing, HR, business and engineering. We are proud of our investment in apprenticeships for our existing workforce as well as bringing in new talent. To add to this we have led the way in being part of the Trailblazers that created a dedicated new apprenticeship for the UK paper industry, the Papermaking Apprenticeship Standard, approved by the UK government in 2016.
Graduates
The graduate intake programme now benefits each business supported by regular recruitment programmes working with high performing universities. Our Graduates take on roles within the business whilst progressing through a programme that allows them to grow and develop in areas of expertise such as Paper Technology, Material Science, Leadership, Process Improvement, Fibre Management, Colour Development & Business Finance. We currently have 14 individuals across the business that are being developed in line with their specialism.
Trainees
The company is committed to investing in personal development, training and enhancing the skills required to work in a rapidly evolving innovation business, with an eye firmly on the future. Bespoke training plans are put in place to support those who have development needs but are not enrolled on to the apprenticeship or graduate scheme, to improve the skills and capabilities for their role in the workplace and to help with their progression within the company.
Students
Our mentorship work with local schools and colleges, and partnerships with leading universities for technical and leadership best practice, has meant that the programme receives a huge amount of interest and applications from high quality candidates.
In the hope of igniting some passion for the next generation of papermakers and innovators we look to provide as many opportunities as we can to work experience placements, STEM projects, year in industry placements and study placements – engaging with students on projects that will support and impact their future learning and development.
