ProFM’s Apprenticeship Commitment: School Leavers To Corporate Powerhouses

Every company, no matter how successful or its size, is built on firm foundations. From wise investments to lucky breaks, all businesses have a sense of purpose, direction and focus afforded by the groundwork laid out before anything starts.

That’s exactly what we have at ProFM. We place so much emphasis on our people, through our stringent and grounded recruitment processes, and that’s allowed us to enjoy the successes we have over the last 4 decades. A key element of that is in our apprenticeship programmes – a constant source of exceptional people with the drive and desire to succeed.

We’re taking the opportunity today to highlight just one of those incredible people – Emily Macaulay, our current Shared Services Director – and chart her successes and accomplishments since she started as a budding apprentice over 11 years ago.

Emily’s Story: 11 Years In The Making

Emily joined ProFM Group right after leaving high school, joining the company in its infancy and under our former name of Churchill Security. Beginning her career in our Business Support Department, Emily’s aptitude and willingness to learn and grow were immediately apparent, and she earned herself a meteoric rise through the ranks.

She quickly joined the Sales department, taking flight as a Client Relationship Executive in what was then a still-evolving branch of our business. That was an opportunity Emily took in stride, and allowed her to truly see the fruits of the efforts she’d invested in a business that had given her a chance.

Over 5 years between 2014 and 2019, Emily cultivated relationships with, and delivered service excellence to, multiple high-profile and nationally renowned clients (including Lidl, Avery Dennison, Sofology and Burmeister & Wain). Her consistency and quality shone through time and time again, and the business went from strength to strength as a result of that.

That was rewarded in turn, with Emily securing her new position as Head of Business Development in August of 2019. This was a long time coming – Emily’s dedication was unparalleled, and served as a catalyst in that ongoing growth.

From there, Emily faced an unprecedented challenge in the form of a global pandemic. While working environments changed at a previously unseen rate, security services had to stay consistent, and with Emily at the helm, we were able to do exactly that, delivering short-notice emergency security cover for major brands including Aldi and Dobbie’s Garden Centres.

Of course, while a challenge of that nature meant evolving the solutions we deliver, Emily’s dedication never wavered. Her enthusiasm shone through, and in 2023, she transitioned into a role as part of the directorial team – our Group Director of Sales. That development didn’t stop there, either.

Over the last 2 years, Emily’s continuously shown tenacity, drive, and an impassioned approach that’s essential for success. Her new role as our Shared Services Director, commencing August of 2025, is further testament to that – she’s one of our biggest (but by no means only) success stories at ProFM, and an indicator of why we place the emphasis we do on apprenticeships.

Sourcing Our Next Success Story

Of course, while Emily’s astounding journey from apprentice to a member of the directorial team is exceptional, it’s far from the only example you’d find here at ProFM Group. John Melling, our Chief Executive Officer, began his illustrious security career as a frontline security officer.

Our Head of Operations for Cleaning, Elina Staimilere, started similarly to Emily, as an apprentice, flourishing over the last 9 years to take on additional responsibilities and leadership roles across the business. Our Head of Operations for Security, Scott Russell, has enjoyed a similar trajectory, starting as a frontline security at our CAF Rolling Stock site.

Suffice it to say, then, that we place an emphasis on growth. Our ethos has always been to have the right people in the right seats, and there’s nowhere that’s more evident than in our apprenticeship programmes. As of the publication of this article, we’ve got 4 active apprentices, with several more in junior positions set to enjoy that same path.

We’re constantly looking to bring on board the next generation of the future of facilities management, and apprenticeships are the ideal way to do exactly that. Not only are these people who have the drive to succeed, but they’re people who’ve opted to be there, and who have the company’s virtues already ingrained in them.

That’s integral to the accreditations we have, too. Our commitment to the Armed Forces Covenant and our status as a Disability Confident Employer offer further confirmation of the idea that, by making the channels of employment as open and inclusive as possible. We know that the right people for the right seats are out there, and our dedication to finding them doesn’t stop with a job post.

It’s also about changing perceptions. Our business thrives on the hard work and expertise of the people, and by offering as much as we can to apprentices and opportunities designed with them in mind, we can make facilities management as fulfilling as possible.