Truro MP swaps suits for the shipyard
8:40am Saturday 2nd March 2013 in News
By Greg Fountain, Reporter/Photographer
Sarah Newton works with Luke from Cornwall College, currently in the third year of his apprenticeship at Pendennis Shipyard.
Truro and Falmouth’s MP got a taste of life as a shipyard apprentice last week when she took part in a national apprenticeship scheme.
Sarah Newton was in the joinery workshop at Pendennis Shipyard last Friday for the National Apprenticeship Service’s ‘Jobswap’ scheme, which allows the directors of companies employing apprentices to work as an apprentice for a day and offer apprentices the opportunity to shadow directors over the course of a working day.
Mrs Newton said: “It was a privilege to work alongside apprentices at Pendennis Shipyard, and to see firsthand the skill and expertise that goes into their work.
“Pendennis Shipyard is an excellent example of how companies can, through apprenticeships, develop the talent and commitment of local people to the benefit of the individual apprentice, the company, and the wider local economy.”
Over the past two years there has been an 86 per cent increase in apprenticeship starts, with 152,800 apprenticeships starting in the first quarter of this year alone, Mrs Newton said - 250 of these have been in Truro and Falmouth.
She added: “We can go even further than this, and I look forward to continuing to work closely with local employers and the National Apprenticeship Service in the months and years ahead.”
National Apprenticeship week takes place from March 11-17. For more information visit www.apprenticeships.org.uk or call 08000 150 600.
