Housing specialist Mears Group has welcomed 116 new apprentices across England, Scotland and Wales, in the latest intake of a programme the company has run for almost 20 years.

The new starters were welcomed at an event in Leicestershire, where they met chief executive Lucas Critchley alongside current apprentices, line managers and mentors. The apprentices will work on live projects from their first day while studying for recognised qualifications.

Trades in demand

The largest intakes this year are in electrical installation, carpentry and joinery, plumbing and heating, plastering, and painting and decorating. Business administration and customer service apprenticeships are also among the programmes taking new starters.

Mears now has 360 apprentices, aged from 16 to 40, including the new cohort. Its schemes run for between one and five years depending on the qualification being studied.

Meeting the Prime Minister

Last month, apprentices from the current and new cohorts met the Prime Minister, Andy Burnham, during his visit to Motherwell in North Lanarkshire, alongside the Secretary of State for Scotland, Douglas Alexander. The visit formed part of the Government's work on the rising number of young people not in education, employment or training. The latest official figures put that number at 981,000 among 16- to 24-year-olds in April to June this year.

Critchley, who joined Mears as a graduate, said: "We're proud of our apprenticeship scheme and the people who join us to develop practical skills and build rewarding careers. Having joined Mears as a graduate myself, I value the importance of schemes that allow people to develop skills whilst on the job, and days like today act as a reminder of just how important investing in the next generation is for the future of our industry."

Sources: FMJ; FM Business Daily. Readers looking for current openings should check Mears' own apprenticeships pages; no application deadline was stated in the announcement.