Water supplier to rely on apprenticeships to realise record infrastructure investment
Thames Water covers an area of around 13,000km²
Thames Water is looking to hire more apprentices as part of a record infrastructure investment programme.
It follows announcements of the water provider planning to invest £20.5bn to save the company.
According to the firm’s research, three quarters of 16 to 25-year-olds think apprenticeships offer more benefits than going to university.
Karima Khandker, Director of Resourcing & Skills at Thames Water, said: “We've got record investment over the next five years and in order to deliver that effectively and efficiently, we've got to make sure we have the right people with the right skills.
“So we're doing a lot of work in this space because we need great people with the right skills.
“Part of that agenda is also to bring that talent in, not only through our graduate and intern programmes but also through apprentices. We think it's a great route for people to experience the world of work, but we also know that we're reaching fresh talent that delivers some of our needs now, but also ensures that we've got that capability over the next few years.”
It comes at a time when almost one million young people in the UK are not in education or employment.
Meanwhile, Thames Water’s research shows that the majority of young people (89%) are looking to find work that “contributes to their local community” or helps the environment.
Additionally, four in five young people also said they would prefer a job that gets them outdoors instead of a traditional nine-to-five.
At Thames Water, young people will be able to chose from 16 courses, including data analysis, project engineering, quantity surveying and cybersecurity.
The goal is to build a pipeline of new staff coming directly from the communities the company is serving – free of misconceptions.
“Some young people, they think they're too old to do an apprenticeship. And actually, you're never too old.
“We do have a variety of different people at different ages, and I think maybe people don't know where those opportunities are or understand that there is such a range of opportunities”, added Ms Khandaker.
“I think apprenticeships offer people a great opportunity to earn while you learn. I appreciate they're not for everybody, but apprenticeships are available from Level 2 right up to degree level, so not just the entry or the high level but real range of opportunity.
“Apprenticeships also give the individuals a mix of experiencing the world of work as well as going to college and university and with our apprenticeships, individuals get access to networks to meet other apprentices, to experience the world of work and have support from mentors and managers as well as going to college or university, depending which qualification they're doing.”
Applications for the apprenticeships are set to open in January.