Sector - Education & Training

Search for Apprentices to Restore Parliament



The search is on to find apprentices to help work on the essential restoration and renewal of the Palace of Westminster.

Initially, six new recruits will be offered the opportunity to work on the career-defining project which will see them help develop the detailed plan to restore and renew the Victorian palace. Recruitment will also see four apprentices brought into the teams overseeing and delivering the programme in digital engineering, finance, project assurance and project management roles.

As the restoration and renewal programme moves forward, several hundred apprentices will be employed throughout the UK. Apprenticeships will be offered in a wide range of professions, from digital design to high-tech engineering; and in more traditional crafts, such as stonemasonry and carpentry.

Mike Brown, Chair of the Houses of Parliament Restoration and Renewal Delivery Authority, said: “As we restore and renew the Palace of Westminster, we will be hiring many hundreds of apprentices and I am delighted to kick off recruitment of the first opportunities in specialist roles in digital engineering, heritage, finance and assurance”.

David Goldstone, Chief Executive, added: “Our apprenticeships are among the most exciting in the country, with the unique opportunity to work on the once-in-a-generation restoration and renewal of the Palace of Westminster”.

A unique shared apprenticeship scheme will see up to 160 apprentices ‘loaned out’ on rotating placements to more than 300 small and medium-sized British companies expected to be part of the project’s supply chain.

All apprentices will be paid at least the London Living Wage of £10.85 per hour, compared to the national minimum wage for an apprentice aged 16 to 18 (or any apprentice in the first year of their apprenticeship) of £4.30 per hour..

The restoration project is placing particular emphasis on retaining apprentices by creating high-quality opportunities. More than 30% of people who start apprenticeships in Britain do not complete them, according to the Skills Commission, an independent body of leading figures from across the education sector.

The apprenticeship opportunities are being advertised as of Friday 2 July, and are due to begin in September at the start of the next academic year. Visit @ParliamentRR on Twitter or search ‘Houses of Parliament Restoration and Renewal’ on LinkedIn to find out more about the opportunities on offer.

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