Apprentice picks up annual award at Fujifilm conference
A Sutton Coldfield apprentice has won the award for ‘Shop Assistant of the Year’ at a major photography company’s national conference.
James Kidd, a 20-year-old retail apprentice studying at Sutton Coldfield College, picked up the award at Fujifilm’s national conference for his work with Frosts Photo Centre on Lichfield Road in Sutton Coldfield.
When speaking about the award, James said, “I’m really proud to have won on behalf of Frosts. This award is a big celebration both for me and for the company.”
James was put forward for the award by his colleagues and other Fujifilm dealerships for his outstanding customer care, as well as his extensive knowledge of Fujifilm’s photography and film.
James’ mother Julie Kidd, who also works at the family run business, said “He fully goes the extra mile with customers and his passion for what he does really shines through. He’s practically running the shop some days and has been a big help to everyone here.”
James’ passion for film photography led him to his role at Frosts, where he originally began working weekends before coming across the apprenticeship.
James said, “I spoke to some friends who had achieved similar apprenticeships and it seemed a natural progression for me to make. It gave me a great platform to ease into full time work with the company while developing my retail skills at the same time.
“Frosts is one of the few photo labs in the UK with a working processer, so I regularly get to work with a bunch of film that other Fujifilm sites send us to process which is really exciting.”
Lecturers from the college visit James at his workplace to observe him interacting with customers, while he also contributes reports and assignments on other tasks including managing invoices, special orders and promotions.
James continued, “Obviously customer service is a massive part of my role but there are so many more other aspects that I have now been able to get involved with. Tasks like planning social media activity and coming up with promotions to attract customers are the type of thing I wouldn’t have been able to do before and now can because of the apprenticeship.
“Once the apprenticeship comes to an end, I hope to move onto a full time role at Frosts and slowly work my way up the ladder within the company.”
A full list of all apprenticeships at BMet can be found on the website at https://www.bmet.ac.uk/courses/apprenticeships.