EG Group to recruit 300 more apprentices in three years

EG Group has announced plans to recruit 300 more apprentices in the next three years.

The new trainees come on top of 200 already employed by the firm.

Opportunities will be available at EG’s Blackburn head office, as well as with its proprietary brands including natural fast food chain LEON and Cooplands, the UK’s second-biggest bakery business, both of which were acquired last year.

EG Group, formerly Euro-Garages, was founded in 2001 by Zuber and Mohsin Issa with a single petrol station in Bury and has since expanded world-wide and made a string of recent acquisitions including supermarket chain Asda.

The apprentices will cover a wide range of disciplines and departments including human resources and payroll, finance, legal, surveying, insurance, data analytics and information technology.

They will also be able to take up opportunities at site level within the group’s food service, fuel, grocery and merchandise workstreams including courses in retail management and hospitality management.

Approximately 200 apprentices are already working across EG Group’s business this year, with a further circa 300 apprenticeship roles expected to be created in 2023 and 2024.

This expansion of the programme follows the successful trial and graduation of EG Group’s first cohort of 33 apprentices in September 2021.

This group completed a 24-month Retailer Level 2 apprenticeship with 25 per cent graduating with a distinction and 45 per cent since progressing into more senior roles.

The announcement coincides with National Apprenticeship week.

Vincent O’Donovan, head of learning and development at EG Group, said: “We are very proud to be significantly extending apprenticeship opportunities across various areas of our business over the coming three years following the success of the first cohort of apprentices last year.

“As a business, we are committed to building for the future and supporting individuals to gains skills and experience across the business. The fact that our apprenticeship programme continues to go from strength-to-strength is a testament to the hard work, skill and dedication of everyone involved.”