National Apprenticeship Week celebrated at James Hall & Co. Ltd

By James Hall & Co. Ltd

12 Feb 2025

NAW 2025 - Facilities, Grounds, Maintenance 1.jpg.jpg

James Hall & Co. Ltd is celebrating Apprentices across the business during National Apprenticeship Week 2025.

Under the theme of ‘Skills for Life’, Apprentices in a range of departments from IT to Marketing, Food and Drink Processing to Facilities and Maintenance, and Butchery to Retail are being acknowledged.

Their contribution includes the success of James Hall & Co. Ltd and its associated brands SPAR, Clayton Park Bakery, Fazila Foods, Ann Forshaw’s Alston Dairy, and Graham Eyes High Quality Butchers.

In the last 12 months, several new Apprenticeships have been undertaken by employees at James Hall & Co. Ltd who are seeking to upskill, and these areas include Horticulture, Photography, Food Technology, Printing, and Recruitment.

The company is also working more closely with universities and colleges on Degree Apprenticeships, and more than half of James Hall & Co. Ltd’s Apprentices are completing qualifications at Level 4 or above.

Wendy Parkinson, Early Careers Lead at James Hall & Co. Ltd and national member of the Apprenticeship Ambassador Network, said: “We are extremely proud of our Apprentices and the significant contribution they make to our business performance.

“We offer continuous career development opportunities to our employees, whether that is young people starting out in their career, members of our workforce who are seeking to progress in their current role, or employees who retrain to go down a new career pathway within the business, such is the range of different careers within a company like James Hall & Co. Ltd.”

Current Apprentices, as well as those who have completed Apprenticeships, have spoken of the positive impact that knowledge and skills development has had on their careers.

The company’s Apprentices will be celebrated with colleagues studying a range of other qualifications at the annual James Hall Learning and Development Awards taking place later this month.

Grace Wood, a Level 2 Horticulture Apprentice, based at James Hall & Co. Ltd’s SPAR Distribution Centre, said: “I am really enjoying my Apprenticeship, and we have a diverse landscape within the depot grounds that continuously require attention to keep our site looking at its best.

“In the role I am in, you get the immediate satisfaction of seeing the improvement work that you have done. I love the opportunities my Apprenticeship is providing me to be creative through planting with different species and colours.”

Lavina Holt, a Level 2 Food & Drinks Process Operator Apprentice, at Ann Forshaw’s Alston Dairy, said: “I love my job and the Apprenticeship has made me feel more confident when carrying out my role. It has been useful understanding food hygiene and health and safety in greater detail, and a recent GMP audit which I shadowed was particularly interesting.

“I have had a mixed career, and I was nervous about taking up the Apprenticeship believing I was too old for learning. However, I have found the experience to be the complete opposite. I feel it has set me up well in a position I am happy in, with the potential for career progression.”

Steven Dennison, a former Team Leader Level 3 Apprentice, who is Assistant Store Manager at SPAR Wolsingham, said: “I have nothing but praise for Apprenticeships and the two that I have completed. They have supported my career progression and cemented my position in retail.

“I love retail because of its unpredictability with no two days the same. I began on a contract of 16 hours per week, before moving to a 30-hour contract at SPAR Lanchester. With the role I am in now in Wolsingham, there is the added challenge of the forecourt, deli, and butchers, and I will do a further Apprenticeship in the future.”

James Hall & Co. Ltd is a fifth-generation family business which serves a network of independent SPAR retailers and company-owned SPAR stores across Northern England six days a week from its base at Bowland View in Preston.

For more information about James Hall & Co. Ltd, please visit www.jameshall.co.uk.

Latest news

1

Bellway to build 183 high quality new homes Royal Bowland Park street scene NEW.jpg.jpg

Bellway to build 183 high quality new homes

29 Oct 2025

2

University of Lancashire recognised for entrepreneurship and supporting business growth - Representatives from the University's Business School, local SMEs and the IOEE

University of Lancashire recognised for entrepreneurship and supporting business growth

29 Oct 2025

3

£8bn Typhoon order is great news for Lancashire BAE Typhoon ECRS Mk2 Radar

£8bn Typhoon order is great news for Lancashire

28 Oct 2025

4

Award-winning Lancashire wedding venue and hotel is sold The Mill at Conder Green

Award-winning Lancashire wedding venue and hotel is sold

28 Oct 2025

5

PM+M announces another 19 promotions across the firm PM+M promotions

PM+M announces another 19 promotions across the firm

27 Oct 2025

Background image for hub sign up block

LBV Hub

Leverage Lancashire Business View platforms

Post your news
Post your events
Post your offers
Build your network
Improve your SEO
Gain coverage in the magazine
Sign-up
Events
November / December 2025 Magazine Launch Event
Holiday Inn Hotel
Networking
28 Oct 2025 - 18 Nov 2025

November / December 2025 Magazine Launch Event

Holiday Inn, Blackpool

16:46 - 16:45

CMI Level 5 Management and Leadership Course
UCLanAerialCampus.jpg.jpg
LBV Hub Seminars
21 Feb 2025 - 21 Feb 2026

CMI Level 5 Management and Leadership Course

Preston Campus, Preston , PR1 2HE

09:00 - 17:00

CMI Level 5 Project Management Course
UCLanAerialCampus.jpg.jpg
LBV Hub Seminars
21 Feb 2025 - 21 Feb 2026

CMI Level 5 Project Management Course

Preston Campus, Preston, PR1 2HE

08:00 - 17:00

Help to grow management course
Help to grow - barriers to growth.png.png
LBV Hub Seminars
26 Sep 2025 - 16 Dec 2025

Help to grow management course

Preston Campus , Preston , PR1 2HE

09:00 - 15:00

Women scaling up Blackpool Fylde and Wyre
LBV Hub Seminars
22 Oct 2025 - 09 Jan 2026

Women scaling up Blackpool Fylde and Wyre

The Small Business Academy, Blackpool, FY4 5JX

09:30 - 15:30

RISE - Lancashire's unique leadership programme for women
thumbnail_Emma Weston Illustration WENDY BOWERS RISE Illustrstion.jpg.jpg
LBV Hub Seminars
22 Oct 2025 - 18 Mar 2026

RISE - Lancashire's unique leadership programme for women

East Lancashire Chamber of Commerce, Clayton le Moors, BB5 5JR

09:30 - 15:30

Chamber Breakfast Networking – November
Lancs-cham-logo.jpg.jpg
LBV Hub Networking
06 Nov 2025 - 06 Nov 2025

Chamber Breakfast Networking – November

Porsche Centre South Lakes, Carnforth, LA6 1FW

08:30 - 10:30

Lancashire Police business update with The Police and Crime Commissioner
Lancs-cham-logo.jpg.jpg
LBV Hub Roundtables
10 Nov 2025 - 10 Nov 2025

Lancashire Police business update with The Police and Crime Commissioner

Lancaster Castle, Lancaster, LA1 1YN

14:00 - 16:00

AI, Creativity, and what it means to be human
2.jpg.jpg
LBV Hub Networking
11 Nov 2025 - 11 Nov 2025

AI, Creativity, and what it means to be human

Society1, Coworking Space, Preston, PR1 3LT

18:00 - 20:00

Beyond the Brand: Building trust through values and integrity
1.png.png
LBV Hub Networking
11 Nov 2025 - 11 Nov 2025

Beyond the Brand: Building trust through values and integrity

Society1, Coworking Space, Preston, PR1 3LT

18:00 - 20:00

The Business Network Central and East Lancashire
LBV Hub Networking
13 Nov 2025 - 13 Nov 2025

The Business Network Central and East Lancashire

Stanley House, Blackburn, BB2 7NP

11:30 - 14:15

The AI Lab: E-commerce
Ai Lab ecommerce (1).png.png
LBV Hub Seminars
14 Nov 2025 - 14 Nov 2025

The AI Lab: E-commerce

Door4 Office, Burnley Wharf, Burnley, BB11 1JG

09:00 - 11:30

Advertise with us

Reaching 50,000 members, our print, digital and event platforms offer a fantastic way to raise your business profile and help you grow.

Find out more LBV124 Online Graphic
Subscribe now

Weekly news bulletin