Provisional figures just announced by Business Secretary Vince Cable show that apprenticeship starts in the year up to July 2011 have increased by more than 50% over the previous year. These increases are across all major sectors and age groups, especially for the over 25’s. Apprenticeship starts in the UK for young adults aged 19 or under, however, shows a modest increase of less than 10%.

AMK Maintenance has vigorously supported apprenticeships for more than 15 years and has trained about 20 over that period. The latest recruits are 4 school leavers – James, Jamie, Mike and Luke. Three of these will receive high quality training in joinery with multi-trade apprenticeship following, while the remaining trainee will concentrate on plumbing with tiling and plastering.

All AMK trainees are enrolled on fully indentured CITB apprentice schemes for 3 years with The Leeds College of Building. We believe strongly in the future of our youth as well as our industry, so our contribution is to ensure the highest possible quality of apprenticeship. The national average is for about 25% of trainees to drop out before completion, but we experience this only occasionally and we usually employ our apprentices full time after they have qualified.

As AMK Maintenance continues to expand, we are pleased to announce the addition of three new vans to add to our rolling stock and assisting in further improving response times. All carry the now familiar corporate logo and livery.