This week the spotlight falls on apprenticeships and the fantastic opportunities they offer young people.
Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg was one of many leading figures to show his support for National Apprenticeship Week 2014 which runs throughout this week.
Over 1,000 events are being held across the country to celebrate the positive impacts apprenticeships have on young people, adults, businesses and the economy.
Here at SSE we’re already fully aware of the enormous benefit of investing properly in the talent of tomorrow. Every year since 2007 over 100 new apprentices have joined our apprenticeship programme, which offers sustainable long term jobs.
And this Friday is our ‘deadline day’ for apprentices to submit their applications to us for 2014 and give themselves a chance of joining an exciting energy company in the summer.
SSE employs 20,000 people and has opportunities in Generation, Power Distribution and Contracting at 50 locations across the UK, including Inverness, Perth, Glasgow, Reading, Portsmouth and Cardiff.
SSE offers potential candidates the chance to achieve qualifications and earn a salary at the same time as gaining practical, hands-on work experience.
I know there has been strong interest in the scheme which is not surprising given the range of different roles available.
Apprentices could find themselves helping to operate the company’s wind farms or power stations; helping to maintain the 130,000 km of overhead and underground power lines across the distribution network or installing and maintaining customers' central heating systems.
The feedback we get from our apprentices is that they enjoy the chance to earn a salary whilst at the same time picking up valuable skills and training.
Most apprenticeships last three to four years and apprentices attend college on a block release arrangement to speed up their progression.
Our apprentices are the future faces of SSE and I’m looking forward to meeting the new intake this summer.
But it’s still not too late to join us and anyone interested in applying can do so by visiting the SSE website: www.sse.com/careers.