FM Conway has pledged to double the number of apprentices at the company by the end of the next financial year.
In order to help achieve this the company has launched a new scholarship programme for school leavers looking to begin a career in construction.
FM Conway currently employs 25 apprentices across the business. By April 2016, it has pledged to hire a further 25 apprentices, who will work across the business’ various disciplines serving public and private sector clients.
As part of a major push on skills, the firm is also launching a new work experience and scholarship programme, in partnership with the Construction Industry Training Board (CITB).
The FM Conway Inspire scholarship programme will see three pupils who are about to complete their A-levels awarded a £1,500-a-year grant to study quantity surveying or engineering at university. During their degree, they will spend 10 weeks undertaking various work experience placements with FM Conway, with the opportunity on graduation to join the company full-time.
Candidates for the scholarship programme are being provided through the CITB and through partnerships that FM Conway has formed with schools and colleges across London.
Joanne Garwood, FM Conway’s central services director, said: “The skills shortage is one of the biggest challenges facing the construction industry. But while most businesses recognise the scale of the problem, many are either burying their head in the sand or hoping that the government will step in with a solution.
“We’ve been working hard to bring new talent into our business and the industry in general, hiring over 20 new apprentices in 2014; but there’s still a lot more to be done. By launching this new scholarship programme and setting down an official apprenticeships target for the business, I hope we can build a real skills legacy at FM Conway and begin to tackle the skills challenge that our sector is currently facing.”
