Sending out an SOS: Could your business take on a former Carillion apprentice?

Hard Hats off this month to Hudson Contract client DPH Construction, which has come to the rescue of seventeen youngsters whose fledgling careers were hanging in the balance in the wake of the Carillion collapse.

The company, which operates across the North-East, has intervened to ensure the apprentices get the essential on-the-job experience they need to complete their qualifications.  Aged between sixteen and twenty, they are all completing bricklaying courses at colleges in Newcastle and Sunderland.

DPH Construction Director Dean Hogarty explains:  “Taking the decision to help these lads was easy.  I started out as an apprentice myself, and after thirty years in the bricklaying industry, it’s important to me to offer the same opportunities to others. Some of them, although employed by Carillion, had been working on our sites, with a lot of time invested into them and their skills already.”

Ex-Carillion apprentices now learning their trade with DPH Construction

Hudson Contract Founder and Chairman David Jackson says: “What Dean and DPH have done is truly commendable.  The company has increased its number of apprentices by 230% - and is still looking to take on more during 2018. 

“With an aging workforce, it is vital that we support future talent in our industry and that we minimise the impact on the 1,400 Carillion apprentices who have been plunged into uncertainty.  I hope other companies will be inspired to follow DPH’s example.”

Claim financial assistance when you take on an ex-Carillion apprentice

Recent press reports estimate that at least 700 youngsters continue to seek new apprenticeships, so there is still an urgent need for construction firms to rise to the challenge of doing a good deed while also investing in the future of their own businesses.

CITB Levy payers are able to claim a £1,000 ‘adoption grant’ for every former Carillion apprentice they take on, over and above the standard apprenticeship grants that are on offer.   

David Jackson adds:  “Clients who are interested in following DPH’s example are most welcome to get in touch with us and we will do everything in our power to help them end the uncertainty for the hundreds of young people caught up in the Carillion crisis through no fault of their own.”

Click here for the latest news on the Hudson Contract Apprenticeship Scheme