Frankie Andrews – 2023 Shortlisters

Posted on: 10 February, 2023

Associate Director – Talent, Learning and Development, CBRE

Frankie is in charge of CBRE’s Next Gen programme: a busy role in which she looks after a large cohort of apprentices and graduates. She became even busier last September when 20 of CBRE’s 45 apprentices enrolled on their courses, and the company has no plans to slow down.

One of Frankie’s first meetings when she joined CBRE two years ago was with Meryl, the company’s account manager at UCEM – and this relationship has gone from strength to strength. “The whole team are incredibly helpful,” says Frankie, “right from enrolment through to helping to resolve any issues we have, to people finishing the programme – they’re really easy to work with”.

The company’s apprentices report high satisfaction levels with their courses at UCEM, and the 100% online delivery of the modules means that all of the company’s apprentices can study at the same time. Not only is this logistically easier for CBRE, it also helps the apprentices feel like they’re part of the same cohort, and enables them to build a network of peers.

Frankie is a keen advocate of the benefits of hiring apprentices because they are so receptive to new initiatives: “They have the advantage of rotating into different areas of the business, which means they can share learning between teams, and help join up the dots in the business”.

CBRE’s apprentices also bring a much-valued diversity of thought to the business, which is something Frankie sees as essential:

“If you’re recruiting people who have either worked in a different industry before or are from a different generation, they bring a completely different perspective to project teams. And that’s priceless. If you’re only recruiting people from the same schools, or who look the same, then you’re doing something wrong in my eyes. Apprentices are a great way of building that diversity pipeline.”

Frankie says she was “very, very pleasantly surprised” to be shortlisted for the Employer Representative award: “I genuinely love my job, and it’s nice to feel that you’re recognised by other people in the company for what we do.”