Today, Wednesday, 12th August, is International Youth Day – a day marked annually to recognise the efforts of young people on our global society, and which aims to promote engagement with young people to encourage their positive contribution to our communities.

But young people are not only having a positive influence on our societies – businesses are benefitting from their talents, ingenuity and drive – according to BWMacfarlane boss Peter Taaffe.

More than 130,000 businesses across the UK now offer apprenticeships, with many business owners acknowledging increasing productivity, favourability in the marketplace, better employee retention and a more motivated workforce.

Peter lauds the idea of young people in the workplace and in 2013, BWMacfarlane took on 3 apprentices who now have permanent positions within the firm. They also offer regular and sustained work experience positions and have recently recruited an intern.

Michael Morris is administrator within the audit department and has been with the firm for almost 2 years. He recently completed an apprenticeship in business admin and hopes to progress to undertake AAT qualifications.

Calum Griffin-Mulraney is an accounts and audit assistant who has been working at the firm for two years, assisting a team of accountants and carrying out typical ad hoc duties within the department. Calum hopes to achieve full MAAT status and progress on to a chartered accountancy course.

Calum says:

“I was really pleased to be offered the position with BWMacfarlane, and during my time here I have successfully applied knowledge from my studies to bring about change within the firm, and hopefully enhance the way we operate.

“Some of my key achievements to date have been producing a bespoke spreadsheet that can be tailored to suit the requirements of individual clients, and I have now gained a small client portfolio of my own, which I’m really pleased about.”

Marketing assistant Jessica Bennett is in her third year with the firm. Jess signed up to an apprenticeship programme being delivered by the Liverpool Chamber of Commerce after completing sixth form and was quickly invited for an interview at BWMacfarlane, and was offered the post two days later.

Jess says:

“I have really enjoyed the past two year at BWMacfarlane. I’ve been able to grow my skillset significantly and at the moment, my ambition is simply to continue as I have been – learning, gaining additional qualifications in marketing and increasing my responsibilities as the firm continues to grow.”

“I was delighted to secure a permanent position with the firm in 2013. Peter and the team here are so supportive and have entrusted me with a busy and varied role. I can’t imagine that there was a better or more suitable environment to launch my career in marketing.”

Cameron Rushton is currently working in assisting the accounts and audit department. What began as a two week placement with the firm has progressed to a one year internship, after Cameron demonstrated ‘passion and potential in abundance’ according to his line manager. He says he hopes to gain an insight and knowledge into the workings of an accountancy practice.

Finally, Harry Taaffe is currently with the firm on an extended work experience placement that involves helping with general administration duties in the office such as post, filing and banking. Harry clearly made his mark on the business, and the position, which was supposed to be just three weeks, was extended to six and will take him to the end of summer. Harry says his ambition is to go to university and transfer the skills he has learnt during his time at BWMacfarlane, to help him explore future employment opportunities.

Managing partner at BWMacfarlane, Peter Taaffe extols the benefits of hiring young people, saying:

“I can’t advocate enough the positive impression the young people we currently employ in the firm have had – not only on business practise, but also on morale. Their passion and energy is boundless, and each of them to varying levels has had a significant influence on the way we do business.

“Employing apprentices has allowed us to harness the talents and energy of young people and apply this to our own development as a firm. It has given us a lifeline, a means to communicate with a new generation of young business owners and entrepreneurs in a way that is more dynamic and less intimidating.

“We hope the young people already in post will stay with us for years to come, and I see no reason why we wouldn’t continue to recruit other young people in similar roles. The process has enabled us to address skills gaps that existed before and it has been humbling to watch our young people hone their skills and grow with us – long may it continue.”

BWMacfarlane are one of the leading, independent chartered accountancy practices based in Liverpool, with a history that can be traced back to 1926. They provide a wide range of accountancy and business support services to organisations and individuals predominantly in the North of England.

As a single-office practice based on Castle Street, BWMacfarlane are big enough to deal with a range of complexities, yet small enough to care about the needs of all their clients, irrespective of the size of their businesses; and clients range from individuals and families to large companies and charities.

For more information, visit www.bwm.co.uk or call 0151 236 1494