Anthony Impey established Optimity as an IT and telecoms business in 2003 and for a decade enjoyed solid growth and success. However, in 2013 the direction in which Optimity was moving changed dramatically when a client asked for a high speed internet connection to be installed in their office within a very short time frame. The solution Anthony’s team came up with was a radical departure from what had gone before, as he recalls:

“Instead of using conventional fibre optics, which would have taken months, we used a new wireless antenna that we fitted on the client’s roof to provide connectivity without the need to dig-up the road. That was the point at which our business transformed from being an IT and telecoms business to being a pioneer of wireless internet connectivity.”

Today, Optimity is a business that uses ground-breaking technology to provide business broadband using systems that negate the need for fibre optic cables and the time and money they demand. It is one of only a small handful of companies using this technology in the UK and Optimity leads the way in the capital. Because the technology was so new but demand was growing, Anthony soon found that his success left him with a challenging skills gap to fill. He says:

“We were installing new technology that very few other people were using so there weren’t many people in the labour market with the skills we needed. We tried recruiting people with the skills but it proved very difficult. We then tried recruiting graduates but couldn’t find the people with the right attitude As a last resort we turned to apprenticeships. That was a defining moment for Optimity.”

Recruiting apprentices led Anthony to discover that those with a lack of formal qualifications and without years of experience can often be the best possible people for the job. He says:

“If you recruit people with the right attitude and ambition you can always teach them the skills they need. That approach to talent runs through the whole business now. We will always prioritise attitude and ambition over everything else during any recruitment drive.”

Optimity, suddenly enjoying unprecedented success and growing demand for its new service, which is installed significantly faster and at a lower cost than that provided by either BT or Virgin, had to step-up its recruitment fast, as Anthony recalls:

“We started recruiting soon after we began offering the technology. The apprenticeships we offer are existing programmes run by a variety of different providers, which we then augment with additional in-house training.”

Part of the extra training the Optimity apprentices received was delivered via an in-house initiative called Tech Up Nation. This allowed the team to tailor training so that it exactly corresponded to Optimity’s business needs and existing skills gap. The importance of this apprenticeship model within Optimity isn’t to be underestimated. In a rapidly growing team, that already totals 60 staff, Anthony aims to have 15-20% employed as apprentices. Since first starting out on the apprenticeship journey three years ago, the business has developed the number of roles available to young people. Anthony says:

“Now, we have a variety of jobs filled by apprentices across the organisation, from IT helpdesk staff through to antenna engineers. I think what’s really inspiring about recruiting apprentices is their determination to succeed. A lot of the young people we’ve had through the business have struggled to find work and have had long bouts of unemployment. Many have arrived with had poor qualifications from school often because they were contending with other challenges at home. What’s blown me away is how well those young people respond to being given an opportunity.”

Although the positive impact apprenticeships can have on the individual is unquestionable, Anthony is firmly of the opinion that the decision to recruit apprentices has to be made from a commercial point of view. The role must be real and the apprentice, he says, must add long-term value to the organisation. However, the secondary effect of giving sometimes disadvantaged youngsters a step-up is something he’s exceptionally proud of:

“For me, the impact we’ve had on young people’s lives is probably the proudest achievement of my career. For some, there was really a dead-end ahead so to give those people an opportunity is absolutely fantastic. I couldn’t have imagined a few years ago what a profound effect recruiting apprentices would have either on me or the business.”

Now, that positive impact has been acknowledged thanks to the Celebrating Enterprise Awards, so how did Anthony feel when his name was announced as Small Business Apprenticemaker of the Year?

“I was in a state of disbelief. I was very honoured to receive the award and incredibly proud of Optimity’s achievements and the work we’ve done around apprenticeships. Just to be nominated was a great achievement but to win is a real reflection of the dedication our whole team has made. We went into apprenticeships with both feet, unsure of what the outcome would be but we’ve proven that if you make that wholehearted commitment, not only can the commercial benefits be great for your organisation but it can also have this wider positive impact on the local community. It’s a true win/win.”