Industry first for Connaught plc and Warwickshire College
September 11th 2009
Connaught plc, the UK’s leading integrated services provider, has signed an agreement that will see Warwickshire College become its sole provider of apprenticeship programmes in England and Wales.
The agreement, which is a first for the social housing maintenance sector, will see Warwickshire College provide branded programmes for apprentices from Connaught’s partnerships across England and Wales from September 2009. In its first year the college is expected to train around 50 apprentices for Connaught, a figure that is expected to grow year on year.
Phil Bowden, Group Learning and Development Director at Connaught, commented: “Connaught is committed to providing the highest quality of training and development for its staff and we also make every effort to recruit and train local people from the communities in which we work. Apprenticeships form an integral part of our recruitment and training programme, offering young people the chance to develop a career in the industry while staying in their local area.
“Connaught’s aim is to be recognised as one of the leading providers of apprenticeships in the UK and our partnership with Warwickshire College is another positive step towards this goal. We are delighted to be working with Warwickshire College who are recognised as one of the leading providers of apprenticeships in the country. Together we will develop our programmes to ensure that all our apprentices receive consistent, high quality training that is a benchmark for the industry.”
Ioan Morgan CBE, Principal at Warwickshire College, commented: “We are delighted that Connaught has chosen Warwickshire College to be their provider of Apprenticeships on a national basis. As a college one of our strategic aims is to develop our work with an increasing number of national employers and this new partnership with Connaught clearly takes us another step forward on this journey. We have demonstrated our experience and expertise on a national basis through our work with other organisations such as telent and Cable and Wireless, but we are keen to support other businesses working in non traditional sectors such as social housing and maintenance. ”
The Principal also highlighted the college’s ability to deliver in all areas of business needs, and that the College was not just in the business of providing off-the-shelf solutions.
Apprenticeships provide an opportunity to start work and earn an income while learning new skills that will lead to nationally recognised qualifications such as an NVQ. Connaught delivers many of its apprenticeships as part of long-term strategic partnerships with its clients, delivering best value housing maintenance services whilst also providing a positive, long-term economic impact by providing training and employment for local people. Connaught offers apprenticeships in a range of building trades including plumbing, fitted interiors, carpenter joiner, wall and floor tiling, trowel trades, painting and decorating, electrical and gas. In addition the partnership with Warwickshire College will expand to include provision of additional opportunities in areas such as business administration, customer service and IT amongst others.
Phil Bowden adds: “We recognise that in the current economic climate there is a temptation for businesses to cut back on their spending with regards training and apprenticeships. There is already a widely recognised shortage of skills in many of the building and related trades so we believe it is essential to keep investing in this area to ensure this shortage does not become a crisis. Our partnership with Warwickshire College will deliver the best possible training, giving Connaught apprentices the expertise to develop a successful career and providing us with a skilled workforce that can help our business continue to grow in the future.”