Celebrating National Apprenticeship Week, Heathrow and 31 airport-based businesses have pledged to recruit, train and develop 516 new apprentices in 2017 – up from 455 last year – highlighting the airport community’s commitment to creating career opportunities.

Heathrow Airport will create 125 new apprenticeships, alongside Omniserv (50), Balfour Beatty (20), World Duty Free (30), Travelex (40), Gate Gourmet (20), Dyer & Butler (10) and twenty five others – totalling 516 new places by December.

Heathrow is the economic driving engine of West London and the Thames Valley, supporting one in five jobs in the local area. The airport has a proud history of providing work training and apprenticeships: 5,874 people have undertaken employability training at the Heathrow Employment & Skills Academy since it opened in 2004 and 1,632 Academy candidates achieved apprenticeships at the airport. Heathrow’s Engineering Apprenticeship Scheme has trained over 470 apprentices since the 1980s, with 97% going on to work at the airport permanently.

Heathrow expansion will create 10,000 new apprenticeships, with the potential to end local youth unemployment.  The Heathrow Skills Taskforce, chaired by Lord David Blunkett, will identify the skills and training programmes that must be put in place for local people to take benefit from these opportunities and build their careers at the airport.

Paula Stannett, Heathrow’s Chief People Officer, said: “With 76,000 people at Heathrow, apprentices are a critical part of our talent pipeline, bringing fresh ideas and innovative ways of working to ensure that the airport runs smoothly and our passengers receive great service.

“By pledging a record-breaking 516 apprenticeships, Heathrow and our partner businesses are sending a clear message that there is a place for everyone at the airport – whatever your career ambition, we’ll help you get there.”