Inspiring the future workforce of the industry: Balfour Beatty celebrates National Apprenticeship Week

News listings

05 February 2020

This week, Balfour Beatty marked National Apprenticeship Week by launching over 240 Apprenticeship vacancies across both STEM and non-STEM roles across the UK.

With a firm belief in the need to attract and retain the best talent from all backgrounds in order to build a high-performance culture, and to help invest in and inspire future generations into the workforce to address the skills gap, the company recruited 119 Apprentices in 2019, taking the total number of Apprentices across the Group at the beginning of 2020 to 280.

To further promote the benefits of an Apprenticeship, and the wide-ranging opportunities available to those who choose a career in infrastructure and construction, Balfour Beatty's Apprentices have been delivering a range of engagement activities in local education establishments across the country throughout National Apprenticeship Week.

Activities include teambuilding through the Balfour Beatty Brathay Apprentice Challenge and career talks to school children including a Learn Live event, in collaboration with EDF at Hinkley Point C on February 5; a live streamed broadcast for school children, aiming to inspire them by exploring firsthand the fantastic apprenticeship opportunities available.

As a member of The 5% Club, founded by Group Chief Executive Leo Quinn in 2013, the company has also celebrated a notable achievement on its Manchester Engineering Campus Development (MECD) project at The University of Manchester, which welcomed its 103^rd Apprentice employed across the project's supply chain.

Jo Volk, Director of Talent & Development at Balfour Beatty said, 'National Apprentice Week is vital for attracting young people into the industry for long term, exciting and rewarding careers, which will not only help to address the skills gap but will improve the diversity of our business.

'Apprentices at Balfour Beatty benefit not only from their occupational apprenticeship but also through broader developmental training; including health and safety, project management, communication, teamwork, leadership and networking; ultimately helping to equip them with the skills required to further their careers'

Providing a personal insight on the experience of an Apprentice, Bethany Welsh, a Civil Engineering Apprentice at Balfour Beatty said: 'I believe there are so many benefits of undergoing an apprenticeship at Balfour Beatty. Everyone can gain qualifications at the same time as getting valuable, real work experience.

'Throughout my apprenticeship at Balfour Beatty I have been commended for my communication skills which I believe flourished due to the scheme. National Apprenticeship Week is a celebration and recognition of all the hard work we as Apprentices put into the business.'

Further information about Balfour Beatty's Apprenticeship scheme can be found on Balfour Beatty's social media channels, Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn. To register interest in Balfour Beatty's apprenticeship scheme, please visit the Balfour Beatty Careers website.

ENDS

Media enquiries to:

Poppy Watters Balfour Beatty
[phone]
[e-mail]
www.balfourbeatty.com | follow us @balfourbeatty

All non-media related enquiries should be directed to [phone] [e-mail]

Notes to editors:

• Balfour Beatty (balfourbeatty.com) is a leading international infrastructure group. With 26,000 employees, we provide innovative and efficient infrastructure that underpins our daily lives, supports communities and enables economic growth. We finance, develop, build and maintain complex infrastructure such as transportation, power and utility systems, social and commercial buildings.
• Our main geographies are the UK, US and Hong Kong. Over the last 110 years we have created iconic buildings and infrastructure all over the world including the London Olympics' Aquatic Centre, Hong Kong's first Zero Carbon building, the National Museum of the Marine Corps in the US and the Channel Tunnel Rail Link.
• Balfour Beatty is a member of 'The 5% Club', a UK employer-led initiative focused on creating momentum behind the recruitment of apprentices, sponsored students and graduates into the workforce. Chief Executive Leo Quinn was the founder of The 5% Club. Balfour Beatty joined in December 2013, the first company in the infrastructure industry to join.
• 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.