We have welcomed 25 apprentices to the organisation, after a successful open day with over 500 candidates attending the event at our head office in May.
In one of Sunderland’s biggest apprentice intakes in 2025, we prioritised applications from our customers and young people leaving care to ensure we are at the heart of everything we do.
This year we had opportunities in our popular trade roles in electrical, gas, plumbing and joinery, and its in-demand housing and business admin roles, alongside newer roles in Project Management and Fire and Building safety.
All applicants who applied after the open day went through a recruitment process in the summer which included an interview with the hiring manager and assessment centre sessions.
Alice Cammock, who has just started her People Support apprentice, said: “I am really looking forward to learning more in my role in the People Support Team. When I first left school, I went down the route of university, but I wasn’t enjoying it, so when this opportunity came up, I jumped at it.
"Everyone has been really helpful and friendly so far and I am looking forward to this new challenge.”
Sam England, Director of People at Gentoo, said: “I am delighted to welcome our new apprentices to Gentoo. As part of our wider corporate strategy, we are committed to creating positive opportunities for our customers and within this year’s recruitment, 50% of the 2025 apprentice intake were Gentoo customers.
“Our apprentices are the future of Gentoo and I am really looking forward to seeing each and every one of them thrive in their new roles.
“We now have a total of 73 apprentices across the organisation, which is a fantastic achievement and a reflection of the success of our apprenticeship programme. At Gentoo, we believe apprentices are extremely important talent, and we would actively encourage any organisation to take this approach to developing talent for the future.”
The new apprentices spent the first week at Gentoo getting to know the colleagues they will be working with and learning more about the organisation. They were also an integral part of Gentoo’s apprentice celebration event at Nissan Sports and Social Club.
Evan Waistle, Fire and Building Safety Apprentice, said: “I have really enjoyed my first week at Gentoo. It’s been great meeting my team and the wider business. I applied for the apprenticeship at Gentoo as I really wanted to be part of an organisation who care about their customers and colleagues.”
Since 2001, we have created 378 apprentice opportunities helping people kickstart in their career and over the last year the organisation has welcomed 52 work experience students to learn more about social housing and the career opportunities.
We open its apprenticeship applications process in Spring every year for anyone over the age of 16. For more information, visit https://www.gentoogroup.com/careers/
