Young local Highwaymen and Women

Cheshire East Council's latest group of apprentices and graduates have started work in the council's highways service -- the first step in their established career development schemes.

This year's apprentice and graduate intake will see four local young people employed in highway maintenance, four in engineering, one in business administration, one in technical administration, one in street lighting maintenance and one person in finance.

Apprentices will rotate between departments within the highways service and supplement their on-the-job training with college studies, over a two year period. Successful completion of the apprenticeship and college course secures permanent employment with the highways team.

Graduates also rotate around various departments to benefit their career progression.

Councillor David Brown, Deputy Leader of Cheshire East Council and cabinet member for highways and infrastructure said, "This is an exciting time to bring new talent into the service as we continue to deliver improvements throughout Cheshire East."

"Both apprentice and graduate schemes help local young people to get into a career that presents clear opportunities for learning and progression. They are supported and mentored throughout their schemes, and gain a nationally recognised qualification."

Apprentices and graduates account for 7 per cent of employees in the highways team at Cheshire East, exceeding the average in this business sector.

The highways team has now employed a total of 29 apprentices and three graduates since 2012, which is helping to secure the skills required for the long term delivery of highways services in Cheshire East.

Cheshire East Council's highways service is delivered by Ringway Jacobs, which has committed to the development of young people through its membership of 'The 5 per cent Club'. The 5 per cent Club is an organisation that encourages public and private companies to have 5 per cent of their UK workforce consisting of young people on structured training such as apprenticeship and graduate schemes.

The photo shows new apprentices and graduates at Cheshire East highways as they meet John Sunderland (Operations Director, Ringway Jacobs) Paul Traynor (Strategic Commissioning Manager for Highways at Cheshire East Council), Councillor David Brown (Cheshire East Council Deputy Leader), Chris Shields (Service Leader, Cheshire East Highways) and Frank Jordan (Executive Director for Place at Cheshire East Council).

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