Member Article

Training company sisters are doing it for themselves

TWIN sisters are tackling their new careers at the double after being kept on to grow the business that trained them.

The daughters of a former soldier, the 24-year-olds signed up with national training experts Nordic Focus Training Group on a six-month cleaning support apprenticeship. They then stayed on to study business administration.

The company was so impressed with their performances they took them on and now both sisters are working hard in the offices in Darlington.

The oldest by 15 minutes, Sarah is an awarding body officer who deals with administration, colleges and funding.

Laura is now a business development support officer looking after the recruitment of apprentices.

“We are both really enjoying it; it’s like being part of a family,” said Laura. “We have lived all over the region, from Sunderland and Durham to Middlesbrough and Richmond. We studied A Levels at Queen Elizabeth Sixth Form in Darlington.

“We left there in the June and dad said we could have July off but needed to have something in place by August. Our sister Beccy had trained at Nordic so we thought we would give it a go.”

Sarah added: “We did litter picking in parks and hedges and at Mowden Rugby Club Stadium and then we were selected to work in the offices and are now helping new recruits. So we have gone full circle.”

Nordic Focus and Training delivers funded training and apprenticeships across a wide range of disciplines and market sectors

The twins’ time there has seen staff double-take on a daily basis. Chairman Peter Robinson said: “I struggled to tell them apart so we decided that Laura should stand on the left and Sarah on the right – a bit like Ant and Dec.

“They have both impressed us greatly with their work ethic and fun natures and are great examples of what young people can achieve with our help.”

Sarah added: “Going to Nordic was such a great decision for us. It was a foot in the door and put us in contact with some great local companies. The company has placed more than 50 young people into jobs since September so it can produce some amazing opportunities.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Sarah French .