Catherine McKinnell MP has recently visited Carillion's Gateshead construction training centre, as part of her ongoing Fellowship with the Industry and Parliament Trust (IPT).

The Newcastle North MP, who is also a member of the CommonsSub-Committee on Education, Skills and the Economy, undertook the visit to Carillion to learn more about the company's longstanding apprenticeship scheme which has been running for more than 40 years.

Carillion recruits around 1,000 apprentices each year and has 2,000 in training across their 11 UK sites every year, making them the largest private sector employer of construction apprentices in the country - and the Gateshead training centre offers apprenticeships in a number of areas, including bricklaying, carpentry, plastering, and painting and decorating.

During her visit, Catherine heard about the intensive programme of learning support provided to apprentices and pre-apprentices by Carillion, the importance placed on health and safety issues, and the need to ensure more young people, their parents and schools are aware of apprenticeships and the opportunities they provide.

Catherine also spoke with a group of Level 3 apprentices about their work placements and plans for the future, before trying her hand at some brickwork with Level 2 apprentices in one of the Gateshead site's bespoke training areas.

Catherine said: "I was really impressed by the training and facilities provided by Carillion's Gateshead site, and this visit was very valuable in better understanding the challenges facing both apprentices and training providers.

"The young people I spoke to have clearly benefited greatly from their apprenticeships and have a bright future ahead of them, having secured permanent roles with their off-site work placements."

Training centre manager Colin Burnicle added: "The construction industry offers great careers and our training operation gives young people the skills to forge these careers. This is particularly important now when the industry is facing a shortage of skilled people. But we recognise that we also need to provide education beyond the individual construction skills which is why we provide learning support."

Catherine's visit to Carillion was organised by the Industry and Parliament Trust as part of her ongoing IPT Fellowship.

The IPT is a registered charity, founded in 1977, and dedicated to promoting understanding between Parliament, business, industry and commerce for the public benefit, with 72 Parliamentarians currently undertaking a Fellowship through this scheme - which includes taking part in a series of industry visits tailored to the Parliamentarian's areas of interest.

Carillion plc published this content on 12 July 2016 and is solely responsible for the information contained herein.
Distributed by Public, unedited and unaltered, on 12 July 2016 12:53:06 UTC.

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