On the move: the latest East Midlands hires

Derbyshire-based independent financial planning firm Belmayne has bolstered its support team with the addition of an administration apprentice.

Melissa Taylor has joined the chartered company to help meet increasing administrative demand.

Taylor, a student at Chesterfield College, will support Belmayne’s partners and practice manager Laura Hayman.

Hayman said: “At her initial interview, we felt immediately at ease in Melissa’s company and confident in her ability to undertake client-facing duties. She was dressed smartly, had done her homework on the firm and already had some work experience. She is fitting in really well with our close-knit team, proving eager to learn, quick to pick up tasks and very motivated to complete her college assessments.”

Partner Martin Birch added: “We decided to take on an apprentice to give a youngster the opportunity to fulfil their career aspirations, whilst we could train and shape someone to meet our exacting standards. Melissa is a great match to the firm’s ethics and personalities.”

Elsewhere, Derby-based IT solutions business RDS Global is celebrating the first year of its thriving academy – a collaboration with Derby College which has already produced seven of the firm’s full-time employees.

The company runs its apprenticeship scheme via the academy.

Andy Flinn, CEO at RDS Global, said: “Promoting apprenticeship schemes through a publically supported National Apprenticeships Week is a great idea because of the commercial value it creates.

“Our work with Derby College enables us to retain the best and brightest people by offering them real-world career opportunities that they think can only be found in London or Manchester – and that’s as valuable for us as it is for them.”

Brandon Bariana

One such person is Brandon Bariana, who began his 34-week programme with the Academy during his Level 2 BTEC at Derby College.

He said: “I originally thought I’d work in support, but in addition to hands-on experience, the RDS Academy gave me a fresh perspective on the options.

“The more I got exposed to engineering, the more I realised it was exactly the channel I wanted to pursue. We were able to tweak what I was learning to encompass that and I’m now a full-time apprentice infrastructure engineer.

“I’d like to gain more experience here and eventually take on a head of department role – and I feel like I’m perfectly placed to achieve that.”