Press Release

Balfour Beatty, the international infrastructure group, has been celebrating National Apprentice Week by bringing together Apprentices from across the company to foster collaboration and cross-business-learning from the various business units in which they work.

National Apprentice Week (14^th to 18^th March), an annual event led by the National Apprenticeship Service, is designed to celebrate and promote apprentices and the positive impact they have on individuals, businesses and the wider economy.

This year, Balfour Beatty organised a variety of events and activities for Apprentices to encourage collaboration, personal development and innovative thinking:

• An “Apprentice Swap” day where Apprentices from different business areas swapped roles for the day, learning new skills and networking with senior management;
• A “strategic solutions ” day where Apprentices had the opportunity to present solutions to the three lowest scoring employee survey questions, presenting their proposed solutions to senior management;
• One-on-one career advice sessions with HR directors to discuss the exciting career opportunities Apprenticeships provide

The activities throughout the week allowed Apprentices to learn more about the business in which they play such vital roles, provided further opportunities to collaborate with their peers and also learn first-hand from senior management.

As the first infrastructure company to join The 5% Club back in December 2013, Balfour Beatty is committed to having 5% of its workforce made up of Apprentices, Graduates and Sponsored Students within five years recruiting, training and retaining the next generation of construction and infrastructure industry leaders. Remarkable progress has been made and the Company has already reached 4.6%, with an average annual recruitment drive of 150 new Apprentices every year.

Leo Quinn, Chief Executive of Balfour Beatty said, “Quality apprenticeships provide young people the alternative route to a successful career. They acquire the skills they need to become employable while on the job, while at the same time, employers get to future-proof their business and tailor their workforce to their requirements. 

“National Apprentice Week is an excellent opportunity to raise awareness around Apprenticeships and the pivotal role they play in the industry and the economy more broadly. In my view, they are one of the most effective ways of simultaneously tackling the skills shortages key industries such as ours are facing, as well as our 14% youth unemployment rate.”   

Further details of activities and experiences of Balfour Beatty apprentices can be found here as well as via social media such as Twitter (@Balfourbeatty) and LinkedIn.

ENDS

Media enquiries to:

Antonia Walton
Balfour Beatty

T:  +44 (0) 207 9632267

E:  Antonia.walton@balfourbeatty.com

www.balfourbeatty.com | follow us @balfourbeatty

Notes to editors:

Balfour Beatty (www.balfourbeatty.com) is a leading international infrastructure group. With 34000 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, Middle East and South East Asia. Over the last 100 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 world’s biggest shopping mall in Dubai, 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’, an industry-led initiative focused on creating momentum behind the recruitment of apprentices and graduates into the workforce. Balfour Beatty is committed to ensuring that at least 5% of its workforce is engaged in a formalised apprenticeship or sponsored or full time education by 2018.  www.5percentclub.org.uk