British shipbuilder takes on 20 apprentices

Cammell Laird, based in Birkenhead, Merseyside, said the 20 recruits have now started their four-year apprenticeships at a cost of GB£250,000-a-year and GB£1m in total. The apprentices, aged between 16 and 27 and from the Merseyside region, will be divided into mechanical fitters, pipefitters, platers and welders.

Tony Graham, chief operating officer at Cammell Laird, said: “The message we want to give young people, their parents, schools and colleges is that an apprenticeship offers as much opportunity as a university degree.

“At Cammell Laird you can start your career learning on the job, giving you the skills and training required for a high achieving career. You can become productive quickly and you will be financially better off than many young people going to university as you are effectively being paid to learn rather than having to get into debt. Then the apprenticeship is designed to secure a well-paid skilled job on completion with the company.”

Mr Graham said the new starters will take the total number of apprentices recruited into the business to 270 since 2008. Cammell Laird aims to take on 20 more every year. To date the company has invested more than GB£18m in its apprentice programme, making it one of the biggest in the UK maritime industry and Northern Powerhouse region. The latest in-take will take the investment to GB£19m.

By Rebecca Jeffrey