Apprenticeship ambassadors on board at Clarkson Evans

Clarkson Evans is working in partnership with the City & Guilds Group to give young people the opportunity to meet successful apprentices and hear their inspirational stories.

The electrical giant, presented with a Princess Royal Training Award in 2017, has teamed up with the City & Guilds Group, through its Apprentice Connect programme, to provide schools and colleges with easy to access careers guidance from current or recently qualified apprentices who have first-hand knowledge of the opportunities that an apprenticeship can offer.

Twenty electrical and office-based Clarkson Evans’ apprentices attended a day-long training session to become apprenticeship ambassadors to give them the skills and confidence to attend events such as school assemblies and career fairs to inspire young people to consider an apprenticeship in the future.

The apprentices will now become active participants in Apprentice Connect, an initiative delivered by the City & Guilds Group to widen awareness of apprenticeship training.

Clarkson Evans is an enthusiastic supporter of apprenticeship ambassador schemes, already encouraging its staff to take part in similar initiatives in Southampton, Oxford and Plymouth.

“Anything that we can do to explain to young people what they can expect from an apprenticeship and where to go for further information has to be good for emerging young talent and the economy as a whole,” said Lindsey Young, HR & Training Director.

One of the newly trained Apprentice Connect ambassadors, Jason Merrett said: “I bucked the trend at my school by choosing to pursue an apprenticeship. I had the confidence to do what felt right for me, rather than just going to Uni because that’s what all my friends were doing.

“Now I have a permanent position as an IT technician and am on the road to a long-term successful career in the IT industry. I am looking forward to sharing my experiences with other young people to help them understand the wide range of apprenticeship opportunities that are open to them.”

The 20 trained Apprentice Connect ambassadors at Clarkson Evans will now join the other 80 working across the UK talking to young people about apprenticeship training.

Michael Osbaldeston, Special Adviser, from the City & Guilds Group said: ‘It’s really great to see one of the our Princess Royal Training Award recipients take up the opportunity to develop their apprentices through the City & Guilds Group Apprentice Connect programme.  We know that Clarkson Evans are deeply committed to developing and training their staff and this is another great example of offering their apprentices skills that will benefit both the company and the individuals.  We’re delighted that we can work with companies as committed as Clarkson Evans and make a real difference to their business and their greatest asset – their people.’

Schools and colleges wishing to book an apprenticeship ambassador to talk to their students are being asked to contact the Apprentice Connect team via [email protected] or by registering at founders4schools.org.uk