The Calico Group’s ‘Constructing the Future’ can now create two additional apprenticeship positions for young people, as a result of an extraordinary act of generosity from a fellow North West business.
Lovell, part of Morgan Sindall Group, gifted The Calico Group £15,000 from their own ‘Apprentice Levy’ — the pot of cash used to fund internal apprenticeship schemes. This means that two more young people from the North West have now got the chance to develop skills, gain experience and earn a wage in their dream careers in construction. One of them, Liam Coburn, 20 from Preston, is doing his L3 Joinery apprenticeship at a Warrington based firm. Liam said: “This really has opened the doors for my future development. It has increased my confidence and meant I can put my skills into practice”.
Lovell is delighted to have been able to help the likes of Liam realise their potential — “Driving social value and doing the right thing is critical to Lovell’s success,” said Chris Humphreys HR Manager for Lovell.
Chris continued: “There is little doubt that there are skill gaps in the construction industry and Lovell are committed to doing what they can to strengthen the skills available. We have chosen to transfer our apprenticeship levy to our valued partners at Calico to help them to continue the good work they do providing apprenticeship opportunities to those who need them most. It’s a mark of the strong and long-standing working relationship between Lovell and Calico that we have chosen to support the scheme in this new way and look forward to seeing the success of their new apprentices.”
Rachel Donovan of The Calico Group, who oversees Constructing the Future’s apprenticeship scheme added: “It’s an incredibly generous donation that we’re delighted to receive. This money has directly allowed us to create further opportunities for young people who may not have got the chance to experience the world of work without it. As a registered charity the donation of funds allows us to employ even more apprentices.”
Since its conception, The Calico Group’s Share Apprentice Scheme has placed over 200 apprentices into apprenticeship roles across the North West, working with other companies to create employment opportunities in areas where they might otherwise struggle to employ them.
So far, 90% of apprentices have successfully gone on to secure employment in their chosen career.
