This article is sponsored by Wolseley.
Beth Stephenson has become a rising star at Wolseley in just ten months with the Ripon company’s award-winning Talent Guild.
The Loughborough University student, who is reading accounting and financial management, was debating where to go for her placement year when she found the perfect fit in Wolseley.
Wolseley is the UK’s leading plumbing, heating and cooling specialist with 560 branches across the UK and its headquarters in Ripon.
The company employs more than 320 people in the city and recently completed a £500,000 refurbishment of the Ripon office.
So this is an exciting time to join the team and there’s no better way to get your foot in the door than through the Wolseley Talent Guild.
A taste of different career paths
The opportunity to move around and learn in different parts of the business through the Wolseley Talent Guild was a major draw for Beth, who is originally from York.
She started in August 2021 with the transactional input team but she has also worked with the tax and treasury teams. Beth, 22, said:
“That experience with different departments has meant it is much easier for me to understand the whole business and piece it altogether.
“It seemed daunting at first but I had heard from other people that they had gone to a business and stayed in one department the entire time – sometimes it’s an area they don’t like.
“Now I know which areas I like so when I progress, I can start my career in the area I like. It’s beneficial for my career but also for Wolseley as I have been able to connect the different teams.
“Ripon is lovely. I am from York so Ripon is similar to York but smaller so it’s a very nice place.
“There are lots of lovely places to walk and lots of independent shops. There’s a new vintage shop that has just opened up too which I am excited about.”
Beth is a student at Loughborough University.
Why join Wolseley?
Wolseley’s award-winning Talent Guild is a great way for employees to ensure progression and realise career goals. This industry-leading approach received formal recognition in December 2021, when Wolseley scooped the HR Excellence Award for Talent Management Strategy of the Year.
It includes apprenticeship programmes, talent boosters and career ladders, right through to more technical qualifications and higher education programmes.
Wolseley is currently training more than 130 apprentices across the UK and boosting the skills of more than 150 existing employees.
When employees progress they will notice that Wolseley strives to do the right thing – whether that is in the way they treat customers, suppliers or employees.
Wolseley knows how to attract, develop and retain the best people. The company offers competitive salary, holiday entitlement, a fantastic pension scheme, life insurance and much more.