Take 5: The 5% Club Podcast

13 Episodes

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Take 5: Get the Nation Learning: Stephen Evans on Employer Skills, Tax Credits and Retention

2026-11-0225:03

In this episode of Take Five, Lindsay Conroy, Director of Policy & Strategic Engagement at The 5% Club, is joined by Stephen Evans, Chief Executive of Learning and Work Institute, recorded during Get the Nation Learning Week. Together they look at why employer investment in skills has fallen, what government and employers could do about it, and why that matters for every organisation thinking about its workforce. Stephen sets out the scale of the problem as he sees it. He says employers...

Take 5: Building Skills for Nuclear New Builds: G4S on Partnership, Persistence and Apprenticeships

2026-10-1631:11

In this episode of Take Five, Chris Shirley, 5% Club Fellow, is joined by Alistair McBride, Nuclear Services Director at G4S, to explore one of the toughest workforce challenges an employer can face: building a skilled workforce in places where none previously existed. Alistair describes what it takes to staff the UK’s nuclear new build sites at Hinckley Point C and Sizewell C. These sites are remote, rural and often cut off by the sea on one side, with few local people holding the skills G4S...

Take 5: Phil Smith CBE, Chair Skills England, Episode 7: Finding Your Way - What an Apprenticeship Can Really Teach You!

2026-09-1128:42

In this episode of Take Five, Lindsay Conroy, Director of Policy & Strategic Engagement at The 5% Club, is joined by Phil Smith CBE, Chair of Skills England, and Maya Patel, Account Management Executive at AQA, for an open and thought-provoking conversation about Maya’s apprenticeship journey and what employers can learn from it. Maya reflects on leaving education following the disruption of Covid, choosing an apprenticeship rather than university, and making the significant decision to r...

Take 5: Phil Smith CBE, Chair Skills England, Episode 6: Apprenticeships in the Company DNA

2026-09-1124:09

In this episode of Take Five, Lindsay Conroy, Director of Policy & Strategic Engagement at The 5% Club, is joined by Richard Gordon, SHEQ Director at AD Construction, and Phil Smith CBE, Chair of Skills England, for a practical and inspiring discussion about the value apprenticeships can bring to employers of every size. Richard shares his own journey from starting work as a painter and decorator apprentice more than four decades ago to becoming a Board Director – and explains why that ex...

Take 5: Phil Smith CBE, Chair Skills England, Episode 5: Apprenticeships as a Strategic Business Investment

2026-07-1431:16

In this Episode, Lindsay Conroy and Phil Smith are joined by Sharon Blyfield OBE (Coca-Cola Europacific Partners) and Jon Hornagold (Amey) to discuss how apprenticeships have become a core element of long-term workforce planning rather than simply a recruitment initiative. Drawing on the experience of two major employers, the discussion demonstrates how apprenticeships help address future skills shortages, improve succession planning, and build organisational resilience. Both organisations em...

#box-pro-ellipsis-179397686148387{-webkit-line-clamp:2;}Take 5: The 5% Club Podcast