Heathrow training and employing apprentices since 1977
The success of Heathrow relies as much on the skills and abilities of the people we employ as it does on our international connectivity as the UK’s hub airport.
That is why we are delighted to restate our commitment to providing apprenticeships, and help to celebrate the importance of vocational education and training during
Apprenticeship Week.
When I meet our apprentices they tell me how much they enjoy vocational training. They explain that university and college wasn’t for them, how proud they are to be part of the Heathrow team - and that they are earning a decent wage to boot without paying for their tuition.
Heathrow has been employing and training apprentices since 1977. In fact, you can see a picture of the class of ’77
here. Of the 350 engineering apprentices who started their training with us then, more than 250 are still with us today. Our engineering apprenticeship is a £200,000 investment in every participant to achieve a level 3 qualification over 4 years.
To celebrate Apprenticeship Week, we are sponsoring 40 students from sixth form colleges in Hounslow, Hillingdon and Ealing to attend the annual
British Chamber of Commerce Conferencetoday. Put forward by their colleges, these students will hear directly from the country’s top business leaders and politicians. They will also have an opportunity to network and share their experiences as the UK’s future workforce.
We work closely with the local communities around the airport, and almost half of the 76,500 people who work at Heathrow are currently local residents. We are working hard to increase that number through the Heathrow Academy which provides pre-employment and on-the-job training for local unemployed and hard to reach individuals to help them into work.
In addition, five engineering apprentices from Heathrow will meet with Ed Miliband MP, Vince Cable MP, Patrick McLoughlin MP, and Greg Clark MP. They will give their perspective on working and training at Heathrow Airport, and why they decided to undertake an apprenticeship rather than choose another career path.
We know that these programmes provide significant benefits for the airport, the airlines who use Heathrow and the passengers we serve.
Apprenticeship Week marks the latest opportunity to highlight the value of apprenticeships and the opportunities they create. We are committed to maintaining our investment, supporting our partners and working with Government as we continue to develop the wealth of talent on our doorstep.
