Customer Service Specialist Apprentice

Aalco Metals

Gateshead (NE11 0NU)

Closes in 16 days (Friday 17 October 2025 at 11:59pm)

Posted on 1 October 2025

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Summary

A fantastic opportunity has arisen to join our Customer Services team at Aalco Newcastle. We are looking for an individual who enjoys working in a fast-paced environment. This role will be supporting our senior salespeople – loading orders, contacting customers & suppliers, ordering and controlling stock as well as costing enquiries.

Wage

£17,000 a year

Check minimum wage rates (opens in new tab)

We also offer an annual profit share scheme, pension and Christmas shut down.

Training course
Customer service specialist (level 3)
Hours
Mon – Fri 08:30 – 17:00

37 hours 30 minutes a week

Start date

Saturday 1 November 2025

Duration

1 year 3 months

Positions available

1

Work

Most of your apprenticeship is spent working. You’ll learn on the job by getting hands-on experience.

What you'll do at work

We are currently looking to recruit for a customer services representative within our busy Newcastle site. This exciting role is crucial to the smooth running of the site.

  • This important role requires accuracy and an attention to detail.
  • The successful applicant will act as a support to our Senior Salespeople. Although every day is different, typical duties will include stock control and communicating with customers and suppliers and completing the general day to day administration associated with a large distribution centre.

Where you'll work

First Avenue
Team Valley Trading Estate
Gateshead
NE11 0NU

Training

Apprenticeships include time away from working for specialist training. You’ll study to gain professional knowledge and skills.

Training provider

HIT TRAINING LTD

Training course

Customer service specialist (level 3)

Understanding apprenticeship levels (opens in new tab)

What you'll learn

Course contents
  • Business focused service delivery: Demonstrate a continuous improvement and future focussed approach to customer service delivery including decision making and providing recommendations or advice
  • Business focused service delivery: Resolve complex issues by being able to choose from and successfully apply a wide range of approaches
  • Business focused service delivery: Find solutions that meet your organisations needs as well as the customer requirements
  • Providing a positive customer experience: Through advanced questioning, listening and summarising negotiate mutually beneficial outcomes
  • Providing a positive customer experience: Manage challenging and complicated situations within your level of authority and make recommendations to enable and deliver change to service or strategy
  • Providing a positive customer experience: Use clear explanations, provide options and solutions to influence and help customers make choices and agree next steps
  • Providing a positive customer experience: Explore and interpret the customer experience to inform and influence achieving a positive result for customer satisfaction
  • Providing a positive customer experience: Demonstrate a cost conscious mind-set when meeting customer and the business needs
  • Providing a positive customer experience: Identifying where highs and lows of the customer journey produce a range of emotions in the customer
  • Providing a positive customer experience: Use written and verbal communication to simplify and provide complex information in a way that supports positive customer outcome in the relevant format
  • Working with customers/customer insights: Proactively gather customer feedback, through a variety of methods. Critically analyse, and evaluate the meaning, implication and facts and act upon it
  • Working with customers/customer insights: Analyse your customer types, to identify or anticipate their potential needs and expectations when providing your service
  • Customer Service performance: Maintain a positive relationship even when you are unable to deliver the customer’s expected outcome
  • Customer Service performance: When managing referrals or escalations take into account historical interactions and challenges to determine next steps
  • Service Improvement: Analyse the end to end service experience, seeking input from others where required, supporting development of solutions
  • Service Improvement: Make recommendations based on your findings to enable improvement
  • Service Improvement: Make recommendations and implement where possible, changes in line with new and relevant legislation, regulations and industry best practice

Training schedule

An apprenticeship includes regular training with a college or other training organisation. At least 20% of your working hours will be spent training or studying.

Requirements

Desirable qualifications

GCSE in:

  • English (grade B /5)
  • Maths (grade B/5)

Share if you have other relevant qualifications and industry experience. The apprenticeship can be adjusted to reflect what you already know.

Skills

  • Communication skills
  • Attention to detail
  • Eagerness to learn
  • Approachable
  • Reliable
  • Computer Literate
  • Enthusiastic

About this employer

We are the leading non-ferrous metals supplier in the UK, supplying aluminium, stainless steel, copper and brass to engineering and fabrication based companies. Our extensive inventory includes aluminium, stainless steel, copper, brass and bronze in all semi-finished forms, covering a wide range of grades/alloys, shapes and sizes - both industry standard and special or bespoke items for particular application or individual customers needs. We have 18 service centres around the country, which offer a reliable and on time delivery service anytime in the UK. Each centre holds stocks to meet the immediate needs of customers in the local area and this is backed up by bulk stock at a central warehouse.

After this apprenticeship

Development is at the heart of Aalco Newcastle, and we are proud of the learning and development opportunities we provide. We are keen to develop our talented team and provide opportunities to progress. 

This is an entry level role with the opportunity to develop and build a long-term career. 

Full training will be provided alongside the opportunity to continue studying with the Level 3 Customer Service Specialist. 
 

Ask a question

The contact for this apprenticeship is:

HIT TRAINING LTD

The reference code for this apprenticeship is VAC1000344316.

Apply now

Closes in 16 days (Friday 17 October 2025 at 11:59pm)

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