Islington Council is marking National Apprenticeship Week, running from 11 to 15 March, by giving brand-new premises to a business boot camp that will help teens learn skills for the workplace.
The camp has been moved to a new location on Brewery Road, and will help students working to win sought-after apprenticeships.
Twenty young people from Islington and surrounding boroughs will learn teamwork, punctuality, and workplace etiquette during the five-week ‘pre-apprenticeship’ course.
Youngsters will learn painting and decorating as part of the K&M McLoughlin Training ‘Introduction to Work’ course.
Kevin McLoughlin, Managing Director of K&M McLoughlin Decorating, set up the course which launched on Tuesday.
He said: “I am passionate about apprenticeships because I left school at 15 without a qualification to my name.
“I was trained as a decorator through an apprenticeship with Islington Council and I believe youngsters today deserve the same chances I had.
McLoughlin said his course will help bust “the myth that today’s youngsters don’t want to work”.
The best boot camp students will be awarded a certificate allowing them to work on construction sites.
The aim is to try and get as many young people on apprenticeships after the course.
K&M has already received public recognition from Olympic authorities for the number of apprentices it used on some Olympic venues.
Catherine West, Labour leader of Islington council, challenged McLoughlin to beef up his training scheme.
“We want to make Islington a fairer place, where all young people have the chance to succeed, something that this current economic climate is making increasingly difficult,” she said.
West hopes this scheme will provide “unemployed residents with the skills and experience they need to get jobs and training”.
In the last year, the council has employed over 30 apprentices and has committed to do the same for the next three years. It has also helped local businesses offer a further 41 placements to Islington residents.
Vic Grimes, Divisional Apprenticeship Director for the National Apprenticeship Service, London and the South East, said: “It’s great to see employers in London, such as K&M McLoughlin, embracing apprenticeships and recognising the benefits in developing a motivated, skilled and diverse workforce.”
