As part of Good Employment Week, we’re highlighting businesses that go above and beyond to create supportive, rewarding workplaces for their teams.
We spoke to Jenny Birkby, owner of Cherry Tree Kennels – a family-run business set in the beautiful Balcombe forest. Known for its exceptional care for dogs, cats, and small animals, Cherry Tree has also shown a long-standing commitment to nurturing young talent through apprenticeships and quality training opportunities.
Can you tell us a bit about yourself, your history in the industry and your business?
Cherry Tree is all about animal care and provides a safe, fun place for pets when their owners go away. We offer fabulous day and stay care for dogs, cats, and small mammals. The business was started in 1986, when Mrs. Driver, who was a cat judge and breeder, found she needed more room to care for all the kittens she had bred that came back for their holidays! Mrs. Driver did an amazing job and still enjoys visiting the pets to this day. Cherry Tree has grown a bit bigger now and looks after 80 dogs and 40 cats each day.
When did you first start hiring apprentices, and what motivated you to take this step?
Apprentices have been pivotal to our success for over 15 years. We are so proud to see over 20 of them come through our kennel doors and be a part of the team. We took the step because we had young people coming through our doors who had not had a great education experience, but had so much to give and wanted qualifications in animal care. Partnering with Haddon has been a huge success for us in growing our business. Haddon caters for all animal care courses at all levels, customer service, and management courses.
What benefits have you seen in your business from having apprentices on your team?
Increased learning and training for our team.
Commitment from students to staying within the job and completing the process.
Brilliant young minds with new ideas on how to do things differently.
Industry-led learning and continual training procedures to keep up with animal care.
How has your experience been working with Haddon Training?
It’s been great – professional, caring, and we know Haddon have the interests of our apprentices at heart and will get them through to a great future. We look forward to the next 15 years!
Find out more about our animal care apprenticeships here.
Are you a business that is looking to hire an apprentice? Please get in touch with us here.
