Hothouse Beauty Ltd is a personal care and beauty company with around 120 staff based in South Yorkshire. They make personal care and cosmetic products including Kids Stuff Crazy Foam and St Moriz, the biggest tanning brand in the UK. Alongside manufacturing and promoting their own products, they also contract manufacture for other cosmetic brands.

They recently took on a degree apprentice to focus on the packaging element of the business. Lois Gault is studying our unique Packaging Professional apprenticeship and working at Hothouse Beauty as a packaging technologist.

We spoke to purchasing manager Mark Sutherland about the difference the apprenticeship is making to his business.

Why did you decide to take on an apprentice?

“Packaging is a large part of what we do, but before taking on Lois it was managed by various people in different teams. Having Lois come in as a specialist allowed us to have a dedicated packaging function.

“We did look at recruiting someone in the traditional way but we couldn’t find what we were looking for. The apprenticeship was a good opportunity to bring in someone new who could learn and work in the way we need, and grow as we grow as a company.

“In manufacturing, packaging technologists are an extremely important resource and there’s currently a shortage of them and a skills gap in the industry. Apprenticeships like this are a great way of bringing new people into the profession, which is much needed.”

Why did you choose Sheffield Hallam University?

“The main reason we chose Sheffield Hallam is that they are the first provider that offers this course focusing specifically on packaging. We also have Hallam degree apprenticeships in other areas of the business so we were familiar with the great resources and support they can offer.”

What sort of work has Lois done for you?

“One of the most significant areas is compatibility testing. We have to make sure our packaging is appropriate for the contents and doesn’t leak or react badly with the chemicals in the product.

“Lois has developed a set of procedures and made our testing process a lot more professional. She conducts a variety of tests and writes detailed reports with recommendations. Being able to identify problems early — rather than during production — reduces our costs and gives our customers a better level of service.

“She has also worked with our brand experts to manage the flow of product artwork, all the way from initial design to the final result.”

What does having a degree apprentice bring to your business?

“Lois has hit the ground really well. She has become a great expert in the field and she brings a lot to the business. I've never met anyone who's so good so early in their career.

“The on-the-job element of the degree apprenticeship is really invaluable. It's so relevant to what we’re looking for as a business. She learns the technical side and theory through university and applies it to our business, and she takes what we’re doing here and applies it to her coursework. It’s created a really nice link for us into the university.”

What impact has Lois had on your business?

“She is a subject matter expert that we didn't have a few years ago. Her ability to take a job and run with it on her own saves me a lot of time. I know I can trust her to get on with it and liaise directly with customers. And she gives advice and ideas to colleagues which is saving us money.

“You can see the knowledge from her apprenticeship being applied to the business. She has a lot of peers on her course who work in a similar role in different industries and different-sized businesses, and she brings ideas back from that shared learning. For example, we invested in some leak testing kit on her advice, which has improved our testing processes.

“Lois also keeps a close eye on the latest trends in the industry for us. Sustainability is an increasingly important part of packaging, and Lois is very good at understanding the new product innovations out there and bringing that knowledge back to our business.”

Would you recommend taking on apprentices to other businesses?

“Yes, absolutely. We've been hugely impressed with what Lois has brought to the business.

“As Lois’s mentor, I am in a great position to help support her through her career and apprenticeship, and mentoring doesn’t take up as much time as I thought it would. She gets a lot of support from the university. We have regular catch-ups with her university coach, which is a great opportunity to hear Lois talk about what she's doing and to share feedback.

“The relevance of the apprenticeship to our business is really useful, and I would absolutely recommend it.”