Home improvements offer an Apprenticeship Week boost to Leeds

Connaught Partnerships Ltd has offered an Apprenticeship Week boost for 11 local people in a move that will provide social and economic value worth over £155,000 a year to Leeds.

Connaught has recruited a total of 11 local apprentices to help deliver kitchen, bathroom, heating and glazing improvements to Leeds City Council properties as part of West North West Homes Leeds, East North East Homes Leeds, Aire Valley Homes Leeds and Yorkshire Housing’s ongoing improvement schemes, as well as provide maintenance and repair works to Leeds Education and Leeds University properties across the city.

As a result of providing the apprenticeships, Connaught has generated a projected social economic value and economic savings of £155,550 a year for Leeds. Calculated by the New Economics Foundation (NEF), the impact of recruiting local apprentices is demonstrated by taking into account economic factors such as increased financial independence and improved future employability prospects, as well as social benefits including increased health and confidence.

The new Connaught employees will work in a variety of roles including joinery, plumbing, plastering, labouring and finishing. Adam Zanre, 16 of East End Park, has secured a position as an apprenticeship plumber working for Connaught on planned improvements to Yorkshire Housing properties in Headingley. He said: “Throughout school I was always interested in learning a trade where I can use my hands so when it came to choosing a career I thought a plumbing apprenticeship was the perfect solution.

“Competition for places is really strong with hundreds of people chasing just a few positions every year so I was over the moon to get the apprenticeship with Connaught. I know how lucky I am to be able to further develop my skills by splitting my time between college and working in a real life situation and it is really satisfying to be able to make a difference to the homes of local people.”

Apprenticeship Week (1-5 February) has been established to help encourage employers to share the benefits that apprenticeships deliver while also encouraging individuals to consider a high-quality alternative route to future career success. Apprenticeships provide an opportunity to start work and earn an income while learning new skills that will lead to nationally recognised qualifications such as a National Vocational Qualification (NVQ). Apprenticeships typically take between one and four years to complete however there is no set time limit as they vary widely in content and size.

Andrew Corless, Connaught northern region director, said: “It is vital to the industry that we have qualified, skilled people coming through to make up future workforces and apprenticeship schemes are an excellent way to address this. Connaught is committed to utilising local talent whenever possible and we are delighted to have recruited these highly motivated young people to work on improvements, repairs and maintenance to properties across Leeds.”

The 11 Connaught apprentices are Adam Kelly, 18 from Leeds; Jaime Fawcett, 19 from Leeds; Carl Barrington, 17 from Beeston; Jarrad Trout, 21 from Leeds; Daniel Haige, 18 from Leeds; Lee Turnbull, 19 from Holbeck; Adam Stockdill, 23 from Leeds; Martin Holmes, 20 from Leeds; Adam Zanre, 16 from East End Park; James Ambler, 18 from Leeds and Ryan Maskill, 21 from Leeds.