Shropshire Star

Thousands attend Telford apprenticeship show

More than 3,000 young people poured through the doors of the Apprenticeship Show in Telford, with organisers hoping for their biggest event yet.

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The Apprenticeship Show at Telford's International Centre

The show, which took place at the town's International Centre yesterday, featured more than 70 companies and organisations offering apprenticeship opportunities.

Some of those are among the biggest names in business and engineering with Caterpillar, Jaguar Land Rover, Muller and and Stadco among those looking for recruits.

Invitations to the event had been sent out to every year 10 and 11 pupil in Telford & Wrekin.

The event was initially set up by Telford & Wrekin Council after discussions with local army recruiters three years ago. In 2016 there were 2,000 people through the doors, 3,500 last year, and predictions of up to 4,000 this year as more than 2,500 pre-registered to attend.

Sue Marston, part of the local authority organising team, said they had been thrilled at the development of the event, which she said helped to provide quality opportunities for the borough's youngsters, as well as future employees for the area's growing businesses.

She said: "For business it is an opportunity to meet their future workforce and for young people it is a chance to see the great businesses we have which have apprenticeship vacancies they can take up.

The Apprenticeship Show at Telford's International Centre

"I think we have built up a good reputation with the show for businesses to come along and take people on for the future. The businesses have been great and we are completely full this year, we have actually had to turn people away."

She added: "For young people it is an alternative route for those who do not want to go and study through the higher education route. they can follow the apprenticeship route and come out with a qualification. There is also an apprenticeship degree route so they so they come out with that degree qualification rather than having go through the university route."

Michael Bushell, Staff Sergeant representing the army, which takes on 7,000 apprentices a year said he had followed the path himself, training in engineering in 1984.

The Apprenticeship Show at Telford's International Centre

He explained that the army's modern apprenticeships are no different from civilian training, allowing people to go straight into work if they leave the armed forces.

Staff Sgt Bushell said they had been thrilled with the development of the show and hoped it would keep providing opportunities for young people and employers.

He said: "There was no apprenticeship show three years ago. In 2016 we had 2000 people through the doors, last year it was 3,500 and this year we had 2,500 pre registered so we are hoping to break through the 4,000 barrier."

The Apprenticeship Show at Telford's International Centre

One of the organisations represented was the Marches Centre of Manufacturing and Technology, which has a brand new Bridgnorth facility and a base in Shrewsbury, and currently trains around 50 apprentices.

Amy Farley, apprentice co-ordinator for the two sites said the opportunity offered through apprenticeships are the ideal pathway into the world of work.

She said: "They learn on the tools. Everyone starts off on the benches and works their way up so not only are they getting a qualification behind them they are also getting the knowledge of a company and also learning how business works and I think that is really important for young people."

Quality

Les Evans, of Wrekin Housing Trust, said that the organisation had found apprentices were the best way to provide quality long-term employees.

He said: "We realised quite quickly that there was quite a high demand for the trades and maintenance side and we really struggled for tradespeople so though why not start growing them internally ourselves?

"From our perspective we take them on and they actually learn our ways of working and the trust values and our vision so it is very much that they are home grown and they understand the needs of the sector. We work very closely with the colleges and they provide a tailored system for what we need.

"If you go out for a carpenter they have worked on site for years so they are not used to dealing with tenants or tenanted properties. By having apprentices they are brought up working in that environment."

The Apprenticeship Show at Telford's International Centre

Apprenticeship profiles:

Shaun Pickering

Shaun Pickering

Shaun, 23, from Dawley, joined Wrekin Housing Trust four years ago as a trainee.

He is now a trained carpenter, on his way to adding plumbing to his list of talents.

Shaun has been trained through the trust’s apprenticeship scheme and said he had not looked back since taking the decision.

He said: “If you show them you are willing to learn they are willing to invest in you – and if you are hard working they will do anything for you.”

Shaun said he would encourage anyone to consider the apprentice route as the ideal option to learn a skill, get qualified, get experience of the workplace, and get paid while they do it.

The apprentice carpenter also said that the trust’s trainee scheme allowed people to get a taste of the trade before committing to an apprenticeship.

He said: “It is definitely a great way to learn.”

Shaun said another positive prospect of the training scheme was getting of a job with the trust once his apprenticeship finished.

Belinda Nightingale

Belinda Nightingale

Belinda, 19, from Madeley, said she realised while she was doing her A-levels an apprenticeship would give her the best route into engineering.

The 19-year-old is a technical apprentice with Ricoh, which has a Telford base, and is studying at Shrewsbury Colleges Group.

She said: “There are a lot of people who have a closed mind to it and think you should go to university and that it is the best route.

“I was looking at university when I was in about year 10 but then I went through my A-levels and realised for engineering you really need the experience so the apprenticeship route was better for me.”

The apprenticeship is four years long and, although she is only six months in, Belinda said that the potential of a job at the end is a real boost.

She said: “What Ricoh do is while you are going through your apprenticeship they look at jobs which could come up in that time so at the end of the four years there could be openings and they plan where to put you.”

Luca Zammuto

Luca Zammuto

Luca, from Apley, is studying for a degree-level apprenticeship with Telford firm Capgemini, which only last year cut the ribbon to launch a state-of-the-art centre in Telford.

The 19-year-old is studying for a digital and technology solutions degree at Aston University with the French technology and outsourcing company.

He said work experience with the company had led him to the apprenticeship route.

Luca added he would recommend anyone considering an apprenticeship to consider the same path for the best chance of succeeding.

He said: “I did work experience with Capgemini to understand what they are about and that was fantastic. If you want to be successful in getting an apprenticeship, then apply for work experience.

“After that, go and get feedback from the managers you are working with, because then you can put that feedback in when you apply.

“Straight away that will grab the recruitment team’s attention.”

About 8,400 vacancies currently open

About 8,400 apprenticeship vacancies are currently being advertised across the UK, with the highest pay on offer in the legal sector, a new study shows.

Jobs site Adzuna said average salaries for apprenticeships were £14,759, rising to almost £24,000 in legal firms and £22,500 in engineering.

The most places were in the London and the South East. While apprenticeships are a viable option for people in the West Midlands, they are difficult to come by in other parts of the country – Adzuna found just 90 in Wales.

Sectors with the most positions are computing, hospitality and catering and teaching. Doug Monro, of Adzuna, said: “Apprenticeships are clustered in the South East and opportunities in other regions need to be fostered.”

Adzuna said there was a long way to go to reaching the Government target of three million apprenticeships in England by 2020.

Apprenticeships offer a salary while you study and, unlike going to university, the employer pays the training fees.

So there is no need to take out a huge loan to cover the cost of tuition and end up tens of thousands of pounds in debt. But people still need to support themselves through the apprenticeship, which is at least 12 months long and could be as long as five years. The pay may be low, and varies from scheme to scheme. From April, the national minimum wage for apprentices will be £3.70 an hour for anyone under 19, or over 19 and in the first year of the scheme.

Those considering an apprenticeship should check their contract to see if they can get help with travel costs.