Meet Jake, our Game Management & Wildlife Conservation Apprentice
Jake Smith, 16, from Henley-on-Thames is among the latest young people to take advantage of our commitment to train over 100 apprentices within the next 10 years.
Jake’s passion for gamekeeping is a family affair. His father is a gamekeeper on the Hambleden Estate, and so has grown up in the industry.
Jake said: “I applied to train with Blenheim Estate because of the reputation of the shoot and Estate Management opportunities available. I am gaining great experience in all aspects of gamekeeping including assisting staff, feeding and wildlife management, preparing for shoot days and pushing back birds.
“I really enjoy working with the other keepers and being in the outdoors all the time. Now that the shoot season is in full swing, I’m getting lots of learning opportunities which are helping me progress in my apprenticeship,” he added.
Training apprentices is part of our ambitious 10 Goals initiative launched in 2017.
Roy Cox, our Estate Director, said: “Recruiting young people into gamekeeping and wildlife management apprenticeships is vital to the success of keeping these skills alive”.
“With the variety here at Blenheim our apprenticeships offer something truly different to other businesses and in particular these land based apprenticeships in forestry, gardening, farming and our bottling plant are perfectly suited to people like Jake”
“There are very few businesses where apprentices can look forward to a bright career whilst following in the footsteps and learning the skills of generations before them. All of that working in our exciting visitor, property and land businesses” he added.
The apprenticeship scheme is also enabling Blenheim to offer new and existing staff a structured way of unlocking their potential through training and experiences.
Find out more about our Apprenticeships here.