Cheltenham electrical contractor named in UK's top 10 apprenticeship employers
Clarkson Evans, the UK's largest electrical contractor which is based in Cheltenham, has now been named alongside the British Army, Royal Navy and the RAF in the top 10 apprenticeship employers for 2022.
Clarkson Evans came in at No 6, above the mighty BAE Systems and the accountancy giant Grant Thornton (placed nine and 10 respectively).
Clarkson Evans, which earlier this week revealed it had secured a seven-figure finance package from HSBC UK to support a management buyout and diversification into the renewable energy sector, employs around 250 apprentices, which make up almost 30 per cent of the company's 900-strong workforce.
It is the UK’s largest electrical contractor serving the new-build housing sector, with an annual turnover of around £65 million, and typically wires around 24,000 new homes each year.
The leader boards are designed to showcase the very best of England’s apprenticeship employers, with those listed recognised for providing some of the most successful apprenticeship programmes over the previous 12 months.
Clarkson Evans Chief Executive, Lindsay Young, said: "The announcement was made yesterday during a live broadcast. I tuned in part of the way through at around number 40 and thought that I must have missed any announcement of Clarkson Evans. So I nearly fell of my chair when I heard our name at number six."
Education Secretary Nadhim Zahawi said: "It is a fantastic achievement to be listed as one of the country’s most outstanding apprenticeship employers. Apprenticeships offer people of all ages and backgrounds the chance to gain the experience and skills needed to hit the ground running in their chosen career, while delivering the skilled workforce businesses need to grow and thrive."
Clarkson Evans offers four-year apprenticeships to recruits, with the intention to give them long-term career opportunities. Around 75 per cent of its managers in technical roles are former apprentices, and in the first half of this year alone, 40 employees have completed their apprenticeships.
Clarkson Evans, which has 21 branches across the UK, is currently working on 350 different building sites.
Lindsay thinks that one of the reasons the company scored so high is its wholesale commitment to apprenticeships through the company's 23-year history.
And it's now looking to the future, having completed a management buy-out earlier this year, and that could include expanding the types of apprenticeships it offers.
With the ban on gas boilers in new-build homes being introduced from 2025 and other regulatory changes coming in to make new homes greener, the company is preparing to install air source heat pumps into new-builds as well as thousands of EV charging points and solar panels.
Lindsay said: "We are exploring apprenticeships to train engineers in installing air source heat pumps and heating . That would be a whole new string to our bow. We are also looking at smart technologies – sophisticated devices which can manage the whole house. That would be a new direction for us as it would mean selling direction to house owners."
The Top 10 Apprenticeship Employers for 2022 are:
- British Army
- Royal Navy
- BT
- Royal Air Force
- Department of Work and Pensions
- Clarkson Evans
- Mitchells & Butlers
- RSM
- BAE Systems
- Grant Thornton
