Qualis is proud to be a local employer and one who invests in the next generation of talent. Around 40% of our staff live in the Epping district and we have offered five apprenticeships across the business since 2020.
Last week, Harlow College student Jack Brown joined the Qualis family to gain first-hand experience of working in the communications and marketing industry. Read his account in a ‘taste of Qualis’ below.
“I currently attend Harlow College, where Piers Morgan started his journalism career. I am doing a UAL Level 3 Journalism (Media) Diploma. I was recently told by my college tutor I would need 30 hours of work experience to pass my course. After emailing lots of companies and not being responded to, or getting declined, I thought my course would be over as this work experience was essential to passing.
“This changed when I got off the bus after coming home from college…
“When the bus pulled up near my house, I went to cross the road but didn’t look properly and stepped out in front a Qualis Property Solutions van. I was grateful that he saw me, and I put my hand up to acknowledge my mistake and went along with my day. When I got home, I had a brain wave and thought why not apply to Qualis for work experience and do some free work to make up for my mistake…!!
“Fast forward to today and here I am writing this after being here for three days. After this I will be going to another local company, Tidywork Studio, for two days to work on the CGIs that are produced for Qualis’ new builds, such as brochures and leaflets.
“On the first day I got here I was greeted by Head of Communications Jennifer Fry, and she introduced to most people and helped me settle and was told a bit about the company. At first, I thought this was a very large company with lots of staff which had been running for quite some time, however that was not the case. I was told that there are around 150 members of staff that work for the team across all the Group, and that the company has been operating for less than half a decade and it was created by the Council in early 2020.
“I was taken to the site called Verdant Place and was shown around the brownfield site. Afterwards, I got to interview the Sales and Marketing Manager Emily Gilchrist and take some pictures for an upcoming story on the Qualis website for International Women’s Day.
“On the second day I worked with Sales Advisor Arwen Morgan, and we got inducted on Springwood Grove site and I got to look around with her. We managed to look inside a 3 bed and 4-bedroom house that was almost completed, and I found this interesting because I have never been inside a new build. When we got back from the site, I was shown the ground/floor plans and found that interesting also. I got to look on Rightmove as well to compare these new builds to existing homes.“On the last day I interviewed members of the SLT ready to create an induction video for new starters. I also did some fault-finding on the website and put the worlds to right, and then got to write this.
“Overall I am very grateful for this experience. It’s made me realise that this is an enjoyable career path to continue progressing in. It was nice to be involved in a friendly team of staff who have a passion for what they do. I want to say thank you to everybody for making me feel welcome.”
It was a pleasure to have you join us, Jack, and we wish you all the best for the future.
