Electrical contractor Clarkson Evans has showcased its commitment to the next generation of apprentices by joining The 5% Club, an industry led initiative focussed on driving momentum into the recruitment of apprentices, graduates and sponsored students.
Clarkson Evans is committed to training the next generation of electricians by offering around 100 people the opportunity to join its award-winning apprenticeship programme each year.
In addition the Gloucestershire-based company has recently extended its apprenticeship offering by providing young people with the chance to work as IT, accountancy and business admin apprentices at its head office in Staverton. Currently apprentices make up 25 per cent of the company’s workforce.
The 5% club was initiated by defence technology company QinetiQ with the aim of getting the UK’s leading public and private companies to commit to raising the number of apprentices, sponsored students and graduates on formal programmes to 5% of their total workforce within five years.
The aim of the campaign is to tackle both the chronic skills shortage and youth unemployment in Britain and help the country remain at the forefront of innovation. Clarkson Evans will publicly report on its progress in its annual Connect Magazine, sent to customers and staff each year.
“Training apprentices is fundamental to the long-term growth of our business. Clarkson Evans is a business that prides itself on attracting and retaining the best talent. Over 70% of our current team leaders and area managers are former apprentices and our Managing Director Nathan Evans started his career with us as an apprentice,” said Lindsey Young, HR & Training Director.
“By joining The 5% Club we are demonstrating our commitment to developing our staff and young people and helping to address the skills shortage in the construction industry nationally. We have some fantastic apprentice employers in Gloucestershire and we hope they will follow our lead and become active members of The Club,” added Mrs Young.
Dr Sam Healy, Programme Director of The 5% Club said, “We’re delighted to welcome Clarkson Evans to the initiative. The company’s existing efforts to invest in the next generation are greatly welcomed and together we can strive towards a brighter future for young people in Britain.”
Clarkson Evans is currently actively recruiting apprentices in Oxford, Bracknell, Milton Keynes and Trowbridge and vacancies are available throughout its 17-branch network at various times of the year. For more information on how to apply online visit www.clarksonevans.co.uk.
Notes to editors:
The 5% Club
The 5% Club works with UK employers and key influencers to inspire, educate and retain a growing body of people into “earn and learn” placements in order to increase the number of apprentices, sponsored students and graduates.
The goal of The 5% Club is to increase the employment and career prospects of today’s youth and equip the UK with the skilled workforce it needs to safeguard Britain’s economy.
The 5% Club was launched in 2013.
Members sign The 5% Club charter. As a member of The 5% Club employers state they are:
• Committed to helping the UK’s growth agenda and acknowledge the importance of developing people as both a business and social imperative
• Playing their part in addressing youth unemployment and skills shortage
• Pledging to work towards having a minimum 5% of their UK workforce enrolled on formalised apprentice, sponsored student and/or graduate development schemes within five years
• Measuring and reporting on their progress annually against the above metric in their Corporate Social Responsibility section of the Annual Report and Accounts or equivalent document
• Committed to encouraging other employers to participate in the campaign.
The Steering Board for The 5% Club is formed of the Chairman, Leo Quinn, Group Chief Executive, Balfour Beatty; Allan Cook, Chairman, Atkins; Steve Wadey, CEO, QinetiQ; David Armstrong, UK MD, MBDA.
Membership is free, however going forward the running costs of The 5% Club will be funded by donations from members.
Clarkson Evans
Clarkson Evans network of 17 regional branches stretches from Newquay to Crawley and Southampton to Stafford employing over 750 highly skilled members of staff.
For 36 years, the company has worked alongside all the UK’s major house builders including Barratt, Bovis, Charles Church, David Wilson, Persimmon, Redrow and Taylor Wimpey among others. In 2016, Clarkson Evans wired over 17,000 new homes, that’s more than one in 10 of all new homes built across England and Wales.
For more information please contact Elaine Hodgin, Head of Sales & Marketing at Clarkson Evans on 01452 858985 or email elaineh@clarksonevans.co.uk.
