Edward has met with local Severn Trent Water apprentices, and Severn Trent CEO Liv Garfield, at an event in Parliament to highlight the value and importance of apprenticeships as a route into an engineering career, and the company's award-winning apprenticeship scheme.
Severn Trent Water, a FTSE100 company which serves 4.4 million customers across the Midlands and in north and mid-Wales, offers apprentices the opportunity to combine hands-on experience with study, while earning a competitive salary. Last year Severn Trent took on 61 new apprentices after a highly competitive process, which saw more than 3000 applications for the roles. The company is investing around £1.2 million each year to develop regional skills through the Apprenticeship Levy.
Edward said: "Apprenticeships give people the opportunity to earn money whilst training and developing vital skills, and they also provide fantastic benefits to businesses. I want to see more young people, regardless of background, getting in engineering - and apprenticeships offer a great route to that. It was a pleasure to meet such an enthusiastic and welcoming group of apprentices from Severn Trent's award-winning scheme. I would urge anyone interested in a career in engineering to have a look at Severn Trent's website to learn more about the scheme."