Kevin Wellman, chief executive officer of the Chartered Institute of Plumbing & Heating Engineering (CIPHE), was invited to a meeting to discuss Apprenticeships by HRH The Duke of York on 9th February.
15 guests from a variety of industries attended the meeting, which was held at Buckingham Palace.
The Duke of York was keen to find out from participants how their various apprentices schemes were operating and to encourage others attending who did not operate such schemes to consider them.
In his opening remarks, The Duke said he is keen to ‘inspire youngsters to aspire’. They need to know the value of Apprenticeships, as do employers, and to see they have a clear career path. Creating employability skills is vital.
This was a unique opportunity for the CIPHE to give its opinion on the current market place for apprentices and to reiterate the need for meaningful, recognised training through approved training centres.
Kevin Wellman commented: “I welcomed The Duke of York’s intervention in an issue that is of immense importance to apprentices across all disciplines. Through our Education and Training Group we hope to work on initiatives that will benefit apprentices, college lecturers and everyone with a true interest in this important subject.”
For more information on the Education and Training Group, please contact Toni Matthews at tonim@ciphe.org.uk