Customer Stories: APEX Education Training Ltd

APEX Education Training Ltd specialises in education recruitment and HR; helping schools solve challenges relating to strategy, decision making and staffing. We spoke to Karen Maynard, Founder of APEX Education Training Ltd, about how she started the company, what they are currently working on, and what they like being based at The Nucleus.

1. How did you start your company?

I was 16 years in recruitment and was a teacher before that.
I initially wanted to focus on education training but my customers kept asking for staff due to my previous experience, the business has naturally taken a recruitment and HR pathway.
Our focus is education lead which head teachers love. We take time to gain a deep understanding of both candidates and head teachers to help them solve their challenges beyond just the recruitment role……we are like a customer service and HR extension of the school…..we embed within the senior leadership team to help with strategy, decision making and staffing etc... This is done in a bespoke manner.

2. What are you working on at the moment?

Given it is August; we have been prepping for September for the last 3 months which is when schools reopen. This is the time of year when we set up our business growth for the next 12 months. Client schools give us lots of briefs as well as their requirements and have confidence whilst they are on their summer break for us to resolve everything in readiness for the start of the new academic year.
So for example one school needs a dozen staff in place for September and another needs a completely new induction process with new policies.

We are also working on internal projects like evaluating feasibility of our own expansion and taking on more staff. We don’t want to expand for the sake of expansion, making sure it’s positive for the bottom line is key to our business model. We are also revamping internal processes and procedures in relation to GDPR, employment law policies etc…

3. What do you like about The Nucleus?

I like that there are many businesses, so we can network and talk to people with different perspectives. The Café is a good break-out and social meeting area, the Business support is great too.
The centre is also a great place to meet clients in a professional environment. It is central to where we work with clients and The Bridge community is very pleasant place to be. It also feels safe when I leave late at night particularly in the dark winter months.

4. What projects/ambitions do you have for the future of your company?

We are committed to year on year growth and will embrace change in education market as the market dictates. For everyone in our company to be happy, stress free and work effectively with our clients as a full professional team is key in the education market and I will always work with this philosophy for our business success.