Landmark Achievement: The 5% Club Surpasses 1,000th Member Milestone, Spearheading Growth and Impact

Congratulations to Coventry Building Society on becoming the 1,000th member of The 5% Club by showcasing its commitment to developing its people through earn and learn initiatives. The 5% Club is an industry led initiative focussed on driving momentum into the recruitment of apprentices, graduates and sponsored students. This is a significant milestone for The Club.

The 5% Club is looking forward to working with Coventry Building Society, not only our 1,000th member but also the first Building Society to join The Club, as they develop their earn and learn offering across all sectors of their business.

Coventry Building Society said “Joining The 5% Club underlines our commitment to providing career opportunities and development to all. We believe that through offering a broad range of earn and learn programmes and partnering with The 5% Club, we can have a real impact on society, creating greater opportunity and better futures for our communities.

The aspirations of The 5% Cub align perfectly with the ambition of Coventry Building Society and we were keen to join a network that has a passion for developing people and providing long term career prospects for as many people as possible.

We’ve got a range of initiatives that look to support young people into the world of work whether that be in financial service or other industries. Our virtual work experience, college internship and employability programmes provide genuine business insight and experience to those in secondary and further education. With nearly 300 enrolments since 2016 our apprentice and graduate roles have provided the platform for our people to start and grow a career in financial services whether that be within Head Office, Technology or Customer Service roles.

Over the coming years, Coventry Building Society will be looking to enhance it’s earn and learn programme offering through clear development pathways that will support the growth of in demand skills over a number of years, ensuring long term career prospects for those involved”

Gill Cronin, Director of Operations of The 5% Club said,

“We’re delighted to welcome Coventry Building Society into membership. The 5% Club provides a fantastic network of HR and L&D professionals, sharing and learning from each other. All our members share an ethos of creating a skilled workforce through ‘earn and learn’ development programmes, helping people develop meaningful career paths. Having Coventry Building Society join The Club represents a landmark in terms of our 1,000th member and the first Building Society to join The Club.”

The 5% Club is a movement of 1,000 employers providing ‘earn and learn’ opportunities to develop the skills and talents people need to become more employable and create meaningful careers. Companies joining The 5% Club commit to raising the number of apprentices, sponsored students and graduates on formal programmes to 5% of their total workforce within five years. Members are also asked to publicly report their progress in their Annual Report. Existing members range from SMEs to FTSEs and cover all sectors including engineering, transport, and financial services.

Member companies now also have the opportunity to achieve accredited Platinum, Gold, Silver and Bronze membership status through the annual Employer Audit.

The Club was founded in 2013, and continues to use its platform, and record of success to engage with policymakers and influencers on issues of concern and relevance, specifically increasing awareness and activity that links skills investment with discernible social impact.