UK 
United States
Laura Bullen, National Lead of Operational Learning & Development, Oasis Community Learning, a 54-strong academy trust – one of the UK’s largest, talks to HR Grapevine about why she believes in Richard Branson’s saying, ‘Train people well enough so they can leave, treat them well enough so they don’t want to.’
“At Oasis, we strive to create change, and we're committed to ending inequality, injustice, and exclusion wherever and however we can. Our opportunities are for everyone and the ‘O’ in Oasis represents our ‘Circle of Inclusion’.”
Laura Bullen
Head of Operational Learning & Development
Why did you decide to re-structure the apprenticeship offering?
In 2023, after struggling to recruit for a Learning Management Systems Admin role for months, I refocused the role which is now split 50:50 between learning systems and design and aligned it to the Creative Digital Design Degree Apprenticeship. This became a unique opportunity for an individual to gain experience in learning and development whilst studying at Manchester Metropolitan University’s impressive School of Digital Arts in the city centre.
Offering learning up to degree and master’s level through the apprenticeship route strengthens our proposition as an employer and helps us to attract and retain talented colleagues
At the time, degree apprenticeships made up 12% of apprenticeships overall and had huge potential to make a difference, offering someone the chance to attain a degree without the associated debt. However relatively few degree apprenticeships are taken up by young people as employers often choose to upskill existing colleagues rather than recruit new talent. For us as an employer, offering this degree apprenticeship made sense both morally and practically.
The benefits:
- A huge increase in the quality and quantity of applicants attracting those seeking a degree apprenticeship, opening up a new talent pool for the role
- The appointment of a highly capable and committed person who delivers more than the role was initially designed for
- Enabling Oasis to branch into learning design, improving the learning experience for colleagues and saving money on external content
- Learning from best-in-class lecturers, tutors and coaches, bringing outside thinking into Oasis to strengthen our learning offer
