OREANDA-NEWS. Matthew Hancock MP, Minister for Energy and Skills, praised SSE’s commitment to investing in future talent during a visit to our training centre in Perth today.

This year SSE will welcome an intake of 146 apprentices - 21 more than 2014. It’s backing the talent of tomorrow to the tune of 11.68m this year, investing an average of 80,000 per apprentice.

Mr Hancock said apprenticeships were the best way of unlocking young people’s potential and delivering long-term prosperity.

He said: “Apprenticeships put young people on track for a first rate career and it’s great to see SSE giving 800 people, across the country, an all-important first chance. We’ve delivered two million apprenticeships since 2010 and with our new high quality training framework there’s never been a better time to start one.”

Mr Hancock met with trainees that will help maintain the 205,000km of SSE’s power lines across its distribution and transmission networks and those that will help maintain its power stations, wind farms and hydro projects. He also met apprentices who will carry out commercial or domestic electrical work. 

Alistair Phillips-Davies, Chief Executive of SSE, said: “Here at SSE we’re already fully aware of the enormous benefit of investing properly in the talent of tomorrow. It’s why we are investing so much in our apprentices, putting 11.68m into backing the talent of tomorrow.

“Every year since 2007 over 100 new apprentices have joined our apprenticeship programme, which offers sustainable long term jobs. And by long-term I mean long-term. Some of our senior executives joined SSE themselves as trainees or apprentices, and have never looked back since.”

SSE offers apprenticeship programmes lasting three to four years in nine different areas ranging from contracting (electrical, mechanical and heating and vent) Power Distribution (overhead lines, fitting and jointing), Generation (electrical, Mechanical and C and I) and home services (gas engineers). 

It puts trainees through foundation degrees as well as giving them work experience across the business. Graduates then join a two year rotational programme to develop their skills and experience and become professional engineers. 

SSE is also taking steps to support potential transmission engineers who want to live and work in the Highlands. In partnership with the University of the Highlands and Islands SSE has helped develop and will sponsor six places on a new BEng Power Engineering degree.

Since 2007, more than 800 apprentices have been hired by SSE, which represents an overall investment of 64m.