Erdington MP and Labour's shadow housing minister Jack Dromey saw at first hand the opportunities provided to local people by Willmott Dixon's apprenticeship scheme when he visited the company’s branch on College Road.

Willmott Dixon is responsible for the repairs and maintenance of 60,000 properties for Birmingham City Council and since 2009 the company has taken on 41 apprentices, including several from Mr Dromey's constituency. To mark National Apprenticeship Week, Mr Dromey met the company's management team and several apprentices to talk about their training and future opportunities.

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Alongside apprentices, many more young people are given a first glimpse of life in the workplace by Willmott Dixon's 'Opening Doors' initiative, where they gain work experience over a number of weeks and are guaranteed an interview for an apprenticeship opportunity at the end of their placement.

Mr Dromey said: "Meeting Wilmott Dixon at their Erdington branch gave me a fascinating insight into how they are working to provide life-long skills that will help drive growth in my constituency and across Birmingham. I was impressed both by the company's training set-up and the apprentices I met; I really liked the motivation they showed about gaining their NVQs and the career opportunities that follow."

(CD)