12 Feb 2021

BKL and LTSB: achieving together

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For National Apprenticeship Week 2021, we’re reflecting on our nine-year relationship with Leadership Through Sport & Business (LTSB). Here’s why this relationship means so much to us.

Who are LTSB?

LTSB are a growing social mobility charity, providing support to talented young people who, without LTSB’s help, might otherwise not realise their full leadership potential.

As their name suggests, this partly involves sport. Training as community coaches with LTSB’s football club foundation partners enables candidates to gain skills including planning, communication and motivating others.

What about the B in LTSB? At the same time as studying for AAT accountancy qualifications, candidates take 18-month paid apprenticeships with employers in the financial services industry. Many of those employers offer them permanent positions and careers. We’re proud to be among those employers.

Working with LTSB

BKL and LTSB have been working together since 2012, the charity’s first year.

We don’t just provide the 18-month paid training. Right from the outset we offer long term employment and a real career. Our newest LTSB trainees joined BKL this week.

We also enjoy supporting LTSB on social media and at their events, from speed interviewing evenings and webinars to their annual Women in Leadership conferences.

We have always appreciated the value of giving opportunities to school leavers, not just to graduates. Our youngest partner, Jon Wedge, joined BKL as a trainee straight from school. Supporting LTSB made sense to us.

Alumni and awards

One of the LTSB alumni working at BKL is Tom Li, management accountant. Interviewed by PQ Magazine in 2019, he had this to say:

“LTSB is brilliant. The best thing I chose to do, and I haven’t looked back. They found me a great work placement at BKL and I’m still working there five years on! I know they would still always be there for support if I needed them.”

We’re especially proud that over the years, four of our trainees have won an LTSB Apprentice of the Year award. One of them is Fabio Riccio (LTSB North London Apprentice of the Year 2017).

Another is Bilshan Mensah (LTSB North London Apprentice of the Year 2019). Read Bilshan’s story here.

“Outstanding engagement and positive impact”

BKL itself won LTSB’s Employer of the Year award in 2019.

LTSB’s Caroline Adair explained how we earned the award:

“Social mobility, diversity and inclusion are priorities for many organisations we work with but there are none who embrace this so wholeheartedly and effectively as BKL.

Since we started our charity in 2012 to address the social injustice that prevents bright diverse young people from disadvantaged backgrounds accessing careers with major firms, BKL has provided life changing apprenticeship opportunities and first-class training to young people.

The staff at BKL have always understood the needs of the young people and have encouraged them to participate in all our enrichment and networking activities and embraced the support we provide during and after they have graduated from our programme.

We are delighted to present BKL with our Employer of the Year 2019 Award in recognition of their outstanding engagement and the positive impact they have had on the lives of so many young people, their families and communities. Thank you, we could not do our work without you!”

Like LTSB, BKL is committed to helping bright, dedicated people from diverse backgrounds to develop in meaningful roles: we benefit and our clients benefit. We will continue to do justice to LTSB by working with them to invest in outstanding people.

To find out more about the opportunities we offer to apprentices and trainees, take a look at our trainees page.