This week we are celebrating our very own George Sheldon’s 6 year anniversary. Joining our Work Family here at Bartco UK/MVIS in 2015 as an Apprentice in Electrical Engineering, it was not long before George`s incredible work ethic and fast learning attributes came to light.

Helping prepare and build 145 units for one of our largest schemes recorded, George got stuck into his role from day one and proved himself to be an integral member of the team who, to this day, has proved himself time and time again.

Joining us on his 18th Birthday, George became one of the Workshop Team working towards his first-year Apprenticeship and has since gone on to achieve his Level 3 NVQ Extended Diploma and has now worked his way up to workshop technician.

George was nominated as Learning Unlimited`s Advanced Apprentice of the Year in 2018 and got to the final stage of the awards which is something that here at Bartco UK/MVIS we are incredibly proud of. Setting George on in 2015, Anne Ashman, our Commercial and Operations Director says “It has been a pleasure to be able to watch George grow in confidence and character over the past 6 years, he really is an asset to our team and is a joy to work with.”

George`s main roles at Bartco UK/MVIS are producing and refurbishing units, as well as preparing them to be delivered to our

customers and more recently assisting the delivery team in deploying the units for Covid’s quick response needed. George`s knowledge and experience has advanced over his years with us, learning how our improved or new products work and operate has made him one of our most experienced members of staff and is often the one seen advising our younger staff including Jacob, our newest warehouse apprentice.

George has not only grown in-house but has had the chance to develop his career skills by undertaking additional training courses and achieving further qualifications such as his; Towing licence, Fork Truck licence, CSCS Highways England Passport, and his MEWP licence.

 Tim Hill, our Warehouse Supervisor added “George is a remarkable young lad with so much to offer, he is always on the ball and a breath of fresh air here in the warehouse with his organisation and time management which is key in such a fast-moving industry.”

George is an asset to our team here at Bartco UK/MVIS, and we couldn’t be prouder of the man he has become. We would like to say a massive thank you not only to George but to all involved in training, developing, and pushing George to persevere. As we always say, we’re not just a team, we’re a family here at Bartco UK/MVIS.

Never forgetting the importance of any of our team members, MVIS and Bartco UK do not shy away from an excuse to celebrate our wonderful team – and International Women’s Day 2021 offers us such an excuse. It’s been a very strange year since the last International Women’s Day, during which our team have achieved so much. To celebrate, we will be shining a spotlight on our team’s achievements by looking at the amazing and professional example that the women who work here set for women everywhere.

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Anne Ashman, UK Group Commercial and Operations Director of both MVIS and Bartco UK is the force that keeps things running smoothly. Anne serves a central role in helping to build both companies from very early days and has achieved a great deal in the almost 10 years she has dedicated to the group. Anne prioritises safety and customer service above all else, with a firm belief that training and looking after her staff will get the most out of them. As a result, MVIS and Bartco UK boast one of the most well-trained workforces in the industry and the team largely has Anne to thank for the opportunity, support and encouragement to be in this position. Whilst working full time, Anne also completed a business degree in 2019, demonstrating incredible commitment and hard work. Steering the company through COVID-19, Anne set out a number of safety measures, policies and employee well-being initiatives that helped to safeguard the team during such an unusual time. 

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Bartco UK’s Purchasing and Stock Control Supervisor, Rebecca Prince, has risen through the ranks at Bartco UK, starting as an apprentice with the group back in 2015, and in a short space of time she has risen to not only supervising her own department, but to also being a mentor and supervisor of staff herself, helping others through their apprenticeships. Along with Anne, Bec is a Mental Health First Aider for both MVIS and Bartco UK, being a friendly and welcoming face to anyone who is struggling with their mental health at the group. Bec has been a key point of call for members of staff required to work from the HQ during COVID-19.

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Mizzy Watson’s role with MVIS makes her the ‘face of the company’ to many clients and customers, working as an Operations and Customer Service team member and she remains professional yet friendly at all times. Reliable and excellent at her job, Mizzy is a key member of the team and fully buys into the MVIS way. During COVID, Mizzy has managed to keep up the quality of her job whilst managing  increased childcare, no easy feat for any mother but MVIS commends Mizzy especially for keeping on top of this as well as her job.

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Having joined MVIS at only 16 years old in 2016, Tillie Woolliscroft started her time here in Operations and Customer Service, working well with our team in the field and customers alike. Being promoted to Marketing Assistant in 2019, Tillie is fully underway with her training in marketing skills. Since moving roles, Tillie has been trained on important aspects of marketing and editing and has found herself excelling in some vital marketing aspects such as graphic design and image editing. During her time here, Tillie has gone on to not only complete her apprenticeship, but to also win Learning Unlimited Intermediate Apprentice of the Year Award in 2018. 

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Pip Wood works alongside Bec for Bartco UK as Purchasing and Stock Control Apprentice, whilst studying towards her Business Administration qualification. Finishing her ITOPS in March 2021, she will be starting a new college course soon. Joining the company in 2019, Pip has taken to her role with vigour and enthusiasm we see her confidence and capability grow each day. Since a workspace restructure, the main office has got to see much more of Pip in recent months and the working environment is much better off for it; so much so that she received multiple nominations for her award of Employee of the Month in February 2020.

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Last but certainly not least, Juliette Wright is our newest team member, joining us in early January 2021. Juliette has joined the company as our Sales & Customer Relations Administrator at perhaps one of the most unusual times, hot on the heels of COVID-19. Having fitted in tremendously, Juliette serves an important role at MVIS, being a fundamental point of support for the sales department and  has very quickly become ‘part of the team’, with a fantastic approach to work and a real team player attitude. This is made all the more impressive since Juliette has hit the ground running so well with her work, she is gaining a quick understanding of what the business is about without having even met some of the team yet due to the work from home restrictions in place. 

 

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It’s safe to say that both MVIS and Bartco UK have every reason to celebrate the women that make a fundamental part of our team.

Happy International Women’s Day 2021!

As COVID continues to bring changes to every aspect of our lives, we are finding more ways of dealing with it, individually, as a society and as an economy. With this comes a huge amount of responsibility to employers and employees alike to make sure they are conducting business and working in a responsible and safe way.

MVIS and Bartco UK have a great track record when it comes to training, especially in the area of Health & Safety, in which we actually hold an ISO accreditation, (45001:2018), along with accreditations in quality (9001:2015) and environmental management (14001:2015).

The group management team places training high on the agenda for the whole team, making sure that everyone understands the importance of Health and Safety for the best interests of themselves and the wider public due to the nature of the work we do, but this importance has never been more apparent then it is now.

One of the main aspects that raises concern is maintaining a safe and healthy workforce in these times, which encompasses mental health / well-being, COVID infection control and site safety. As a result, these aspects are being tackled internally to allow us to maintain the safety of our team, so that we can continue to bring safety solutions for the benefit of the general public.

In a previous post, we explore the implementation of Peninsula’s Employee Assistance Program (EAP). However, we haven’t stopped there – in recent weeks, we have mandated our whole team to sit the COVID-19 Site Safety Plus course accredited by CITB, a course that has an expiration of 5 years from completion that attests to the quality of information and learning received for participants.

The course itself was in-depth and thorough, bringing with it a new and deeper level of appreciation for COVID for our whole team, not just those who are required to work on site but even for those working from home. The more everyone understands the severity of keeping workplaces and sites controlled and as close to COVID safe as possible, the better for our team as individuals, for the group as a whole and for wider society in general.

Here at MVIS, alongside sister company Bartco UK, we take every opportunity to be able to celebrate our incredibly talented workforce.  National Apprentice Week 2021 brings us the chance to boast about our younger team members. 

Our retention of apprentices is impeccable, and we are lucky enough to say that we have continuously had at least one apprentice in our team since 2013!  Dom Bridge, our first apprentice, who joined at 18 years old, has been developing his skills constantly during his employment with MVIS, qualifying last year as an Operations Manager.

From training new staff to ensuring that our customers’ needs are met, Dom is one of the longest serving staff members here at MVIS.  After being trained up by our Commercial and Operations Director, Anne Ashman over the last 8 years, Dom has been able to pass on his knowledge to our other apprentices, all of which have remained at MVIS/Bartco UK after passing their qualifications.

After speaking with Dom about the importance of apprenticeships he commented, “I think apprentices are very important to us, they bring fresh new ideas to the table and an eagerness to learn. It is great that MVIS/Bartco buys into the apprenticeship program, giving young people an opportunity to develop an amazing career.”

 

It is thanks to our innovative ideas and eagerness to improve that allow us to maintain the high quality and award-winning customer service that we proudly shout about. This would not be possible without the outstanding team of apprentices that have joined us over the years.

 

Back in 2015 Bartco UK saw Rebecca Prince join the team, quickly finding her calling in Stock and Purchasing.  Becca who is now Bartco UK’s purchasing and stock supervisor, ensures that everything is running smoothly within the stock control side of the business. Not only this, but Rebecca has an Apprentice of her own to pass skills on to. Pip Wood began at Bartco UK in 2018 alongside Bec as we saw the company begin to grow. Pip has since completed her apprenticeship and has moved onto other courses such as her ITOPS which she is currently undertaking and has just signed up for her NVQ level 3 in customer service.  All our staff not only improve their knowledge on company-based skills, but also expand their portfolio and better themselves as employees.

 

 

In 2016 Tillie Woolliscroft joined the MVIS team as an Operations Apprentice. Tillie began her journey at MVIS, aged 16, under the wing of Dom and made important relationships with customers and colleagues which allowed her to build confidence in her role. Tillie then began helping with social media which ultimately lead to moving Marketing in-house and creating our very own Marketing team, where Tillie was promoted to Marketing Assistant.

Since moving roles, working with Marketing Manager Sean Brown, Tillie has been trained on important aspects of marketing and editing and has found herself excelling in some vital marketing aspects such as graphic design and image editing.

Tillie spoke of her time at MVIS “Joining MVIS after leaving school was the best decision I could have made for my future; I have completed two college courses and have now moved into Marketing.  Marketing never even crossed my mind, but Anne spotted potential in my artistic skills, which led to my new job role and I couldn’t be happier.”

 

For the company’s being part of the apprenticeship scheme has made it clear that in order to strive for improvement as a company, Apprentices are the way forward. Bringing new ideas to the table and growing into their roll, we are proud of every single apprentice that we have welcomed through the door.

Anne Ashman, Commercial & Operations Director commented “As a young person myself who started work as an apprentice, albeit it in a very different industry, it has always made me realise the skills you pick up working in a workplace rather than attending college or university are priceless. These skills are life skills and build your confidence, also making you part of a team, teaching you the way to conduct yourself within a workplace environment.  I am a strong believer in education and am very proud to have been able to give so many young people the opportunity to not only get on the job ladder but be able to offer them a high level of qualifications so that they have a bright future.  I enjoy nothing more than spending time with  our apprentices passing on my own skills and helping them learn “the tricks of the trade”.

Over the years MVIS/Bartco have been able to build incredible teams, a lot of this is down to the 8 staff who began as Apprentices.  We would like to thank not only these members of staff but each and every one of our incredibly talented work force who have been on hand to pass on their knowledge.  Our Culture here at MVIS/Bartco UK is that we are only as good as each member of our team.