Keoghs nominated in two categories at Bolton Business Awards 2018

Keoghs is proud to have been nominated for two awards at the Bolton Business Awards 2018 in both the ‘Employer of the Year’ and ‘Best Company for Apprentice Development’ categories.

The ‘Employer of the Year’ nomination recognises the top 100 law firm’s support and development of its workforce, demonstrating a consistent focus on people and a long term commitment to upskilling and providing opportunities for career development.

Commenting on the nomination, Keoghs Chief Operating Officer Allison Carr said;

“We are delighted to be shortlisted as an “Employer of the Year” as people are at the heart of Keogh’s sustained success. We recruit and develop the best local talent and enable individual employees to achieve their career aspirations which, in turn, drives our business growth. In return we offer our employees great career opportunities, modern benefits and flexible ways of working in a market which is quite traditional and change averse.”

Inclusion in the ‘Apprentice Development’ category also acknowledges Keoghs’ success with its apprenticeship initiative. Through this programme the firm wanted to give local talented school and college leavers who wanted to combine study and work together the same opportunities as those who attended university to study for a degree. Having recruited over 30 apprentices in the last two years, the firm has already seen 43% of those apprentices promoted within the first year of joining the firm.

David McIntosh, People Development Manager, added;

“We designed our apprenticeship programme to enable people with the desire and potential to have a career in the legal profession right through to qualification as a solicitor. We were one of the first law firms in the country to sign up to the Level 3 Paralegal Trailblazer apprenticeship, as well as to progress a paralegal apprentice onto the Level 7 Solicitor apprenticeship. We are proud that we have now given over 30 talented individuals a start in their legal career in the last two years.”

With over 1,200 of Keoghs’ 1,700-strong workforce based in Bolton, Keoghs continuously invests in its people and supports the local community through a range of initiatives from an ‘Earn While You Learn’ apprenticeship programme to the firm’s already award-nominated Sector Based Work Academy.

Head of People, Jo Wright, was delighted with the nominations, stating;

“What makes Keoghs different is our people and we’re very proud that this has been recognised by the Bolton Business Awards. It is also great to see the success of our apprenticeship programmes being acknowledged, which is a testament to the hard work and dedication of those who have forged careers through this path.”