JTL has launched a bold new campaign urging employers to take on an apprentice and invest in their future workforce.

The campaign, Powering Apprenticeships. Fuelling Business, comes at a time of mounting pressure on the UK’s skilled trades. With demand growing in core areas such as electrical installation, low-carbon technologies and heating and plumbing services, JTL is appealing directly to employers to act now and secure the next generation of qualified professionals in these safety-critical industries.

JTL currently supports over 8,000 apprentices in partnership with more than 3,800 employers across England and Wales; mostly small and micro businesses.

Recent reforms to funding have increased the accessibility of apprenticeships, particularly for small businesses. Employers with fewer than 50 staff can now access fully funded apprenticeships for individuals aged 16 to 21, helping to reduce upfront costs associated with recruitment and training. JTL also provides each apprentice with a workplace toolkit and access to digital learning resources as part of its standard offer, aiming to support both the apprentice’s development and the employer’s onboarding process.

Hayley Tabberer, Employer Campaign Manager, said: “Our apprentices are job-ready and supported from the very start. This campaign reflects the energy and confidence we see in our learners every day – and in the employers who choose to invest in them.”

Chris Claydon, Chief Executive of JTL, added: “The UK is at a tipping point. The demand for skilled electricians and plumbing professionals is rising rapidly, but the workforce is shrinking. We are seeing some employers hesitate, but now is the moment to lean in. Apprenticeships are not a cost – they are an investment in futureproofing your business. Our campaign is a direct call to employers: if you want to remain competitive, sustainable and skilled for the future, it’s time to take action.”

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This year Aico has been working with JTL Training in Ashford, Kent to provide their students with Aico’s free, award-winning Expert Installer Training.

JTL is one of the largest work-based learning providers in England and Wales working with over 3,800 businesses from large corporations to small local suppliers. JTL is currently working with over 8,000 learners and trains more apprentices than anyone else in the building services and engineering sector.

Aico’s FIA CPD accredited Expert Installer Training is designed to ensure electrical contractors have all the information they need to install domestic fire and carbon monoxide alarm systems. Guaranteeing effective fire safety protection for customers relies on alarm systems being installed correctly. It is important that young people who are entering the work environment are given the correct information when it comes to installing life safety devices.

The students at JTL were also provided with information and a demonstration of the HomeLINK Connected Home Solution. The system can extract and collate data directly from alarm heads and Environmental Sensors and be made available from a user-friendly dashboard. These actionable insights enable preventative measures and proactive maintenance of Landlords’ housing portfolios.

Once students have completed Expert Installer training, they are invited to join the Aico Installer Community – a connected online platform built to support Expert Installers. Members of the community are eligible to participate in Aico’s free-of-charge City & Guilds Assured Training – Domestic Fire &CO Alarm Systems.

Aico’s Regional Specification Manager (RSM), Paul Barrett, who provided the training, added: “Educating future generations is one of the most rewarding parts of my role. It has been great to work with Russell Griffiths and Dave Cunningham educating their students on the importance of installing Domestic Fire and CO alarms to British Standards BS 5839-P6 and BS 50292. It is now becoming an annual event and I hope we can roll the training out to all their colleges.”

JTL’s Senior Electrical Tutor, Russell Griffiths, commented: “I have been teaching electrical installations for 17 years and it has always baffled me that fire alarms do not form more of a part of the qualification than they do. So, with this in mind, I made an approach to Paul Barrett of Aico to see if the company could provide CPD to our learners here at JTL Ashford.

“On meeting with Paul, I could tell that Aico were going to be very proactive partners in the assistance they were to give us, and it was fantastic to hear about the Expert Installer training that they could provide for our learners. We arranged a date for Paul to come in and deliver the training and I have to say it was of great benefit to our learners. Students were actively engaged from start to finish and all were provided with a certificate of completion, that they could add to their CPD files and off-the-job training logs.

“All learners found the session very useful and were happy with gaining a better understanding of domestic smoke alarm systems and the different types of protection offered with Aico products, Paul was very professional and able to deliver a good session to our learners with his expert knowledge.

“Moving forward, Paul has arranged for a bespoke display board to be made for our workshop enabling the learners to have access to not only demonstrate products but also can be made live to enable learners to test functionality. I hope that we can have a Paul back every year to deliver to our learners because the service that Aico and Paul provide is a valuable addition to our curriculum here and I believe that it should be used widely throughout our organisation.”

Supporting education is a big focus for Aico and they have a dedicated team of 29 RSMs, delivering fully accredited CPD courses across the UK.

To find out more, you can find your local RSM here

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