28 August 2024

New wave of apprentices will play key role in our trades workforce

We take pride in developing our new apprentices who will gain invaluable skills while earning a good wage.
LiveWest colleague talking to two customers in a kitchen

We recognise the importance of apprenticeships to our organisation and across the housing sector. 

The benefits of apprenticeships to people are clear: on-the-job training, industry-recognised qualifications, and genuine opportunities for career progression. 

Our recent recruitment for apprentices resulted in 408 individual applications. 

More than 100 of those who applied were invited to an assessment centre which gave us an opportunity to meet them in an informal setting. 

Applicants took part in an ice breaker activity before meeting members of our People and Talent team, our apprenticeship mentors and current apprentices. 

We pride ourselves on providing excellent services to our customers and those that attended were assessed on a range of customer scenarios. 

The applicants were given an opportunity to find out all about LiveWest and ask any questions. 

The assessment centre was also designed to assess candidates’ motivation and enthusiasm for trades as well as their problem-solving abilities. 

As a result, we have recruited 13 new trade apprentices, three of which are women as we continue to strive for a better gender balance in our trades workforce. 

We know that by investing in apprenticeships and delivering quality programmes and real opportunities, we can shape our own workforce and deliver a quality repairs service. 

Paul Turner, our Executive Director of People and Communications, said: “We recognise that the sector faces a growing skills gap in essential maintenance trades – gas engineers, electricians and carpenters that are so fundamental to our housing provision. 

“So the investment in our future workforce means we can continue to provide an excellent quality repairs service to more than 80,000 customers. 

“Apprenticeships are one of the ways we are supporting our local communities to boost skills, opportunities and jobs.”

Our recruitment page shows all of the roles we are currently recruiting for.