We met Marc Dellapina last week of Turbo PACS. You may have caught him on the TV the following day after We spoke to friends at the BBC.
Marc got two minutes on Look North. We got the cameras to go to his garage, he was shown at work and then interviewed with his logo emblazoned across his chest. Great publicity for him.
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Tags: Marc Dellapina, PR, BBC, Edwards Creative Media Ltd, Turbo PACS, Cliff Edwards

New Apprentice Joseph Carpenter at Beez Business Solutions

Sarah takes on The Apprentice


Young businesswoman Sarah Hubble, who took on her first apprentice this week (Feb 7th) believes her buisness has been kick-started after she set up on the Hackworth Industrial Estate in Shildon.

Joseph Carpenter, 19, has begun work at Beez Business Solutions at Norland House on the Hackworth Industrial Estate. His sales apprenticeship is very different from the traditional trades and apprenticeships carried out at the former Shildon Wagon Works site in years gone by.

Sarah moved onto the estate in January. She said: “My move to Shildon has been brilliant. It’s great for telemarketing – the people are so friendly. We’ve got a real community of business people here and I’ve been amazed at how kind and generous people have been.


“Durham County Council’s terms for my premises here are great. For a small business just setting up, money can be tight and they’ve really done their best for me. That attitude has helped me expand. Our business is all about growing other businesses and so there really is a knock on effect.”

She said that indeed, Beez Business Solutions having taken on its first apprentice would soon be seeking more staff from the local community.

Of her new apprentice, she says: "Joseph was very impressive when I interviewed him. He's got a great manner and we really think he has potential. He came across as very confident, and full of enthusiasm and drive. He explained how he really wanted to get into sales and develop his skills and create a base for a future career in this field.

Sarah says: "Young people's welfare is very important to me. I just think that if employers can possibly give them a chance, they should. The young people need experience to get jobs and we're in a position to help them. It's difficult finding work when your CV is two lines long.

"I also believe that because of the rise in tuition fees, apprenticeships will become much more important as young people look for alternative ways of launching their careers. We should expand apprenticeships into many other sectors, more professional sectors."

And she added: "What we are offering is a very modern apprenticeship in a service-based economy. It is very relevant in the North East. The apprenticeships of the 21st Century will be very different from those 50 years ago."

Joseph says: “I think this is a great opportunity for me. I didn’t want to go to university – the fees were a factor, but really I just wanted to get stuck in to work. I’m very interested in sales and I think I will learn a lot. I’m training on the job and I think employers are more interested in experience than qualifications.”

Gerri Edwards, of Bishop Auckland College, says: “Sarah herself is very young and it’s wonderful a young person can give another young person a chance. It offers a great opportunity to progress. It’s a long hard road for young people these days.
This is a viable alternative to university.”

Sarah launched her telemarketing company, Beez Business Solutions, form her home in Darlington last July. However, it grew quickly enough for her to move to new premises in Shildon in last month. Business is booming despite the recession. She expects her workforce to have grown to eight by the summer.

Sarah, 25, undertook an apprenticeship herself, run by The North East Chamber of Commerce, after leaving school with just two C grade GCSEs. During periods of unemployment, she was a voluntary worker at the Newton Aycliffe charity DISC, which aimed to educate and find employment for young people who had with no qualifiations and were experiencing other barriers to work like handicaps or criminal records.

Joseph's apprenticeship is funded through Bishop Auckland College, where he was formerly a student.

Tags: Sarah Hubble, Beez Business Solutions, Joseph Carpenter, Apprenticeship Week, Apprentice, Hackworth Industrial Estate, Shildon, Edwards Creative Media Ltd, Copy writing, Telemarketing, Edwards Creative Media Ktd, Cliff Edwards, PR, Blog