Kelvin Hughes takes on first apprentice as part of new Apprenticeship Academy

The first apprentice Abbie Vivers who lives in Enfield, joined the company on the 20th August – working in the IT department and studying for a NVQ Level 3 in ICT – and a number of additional apprentices will be recruited across all areas of the business over the course of the last quarter of 2014 and into 2015. Kelvin Hughes’ Chief Executive, Russell Gould commented: “Apprenticeships are important to ensure we’re bringing young people through with the skills we need. And by creating real career opportunities, we’re also giving something back to the local community and helping the wider economy.” Plans to run apprenticeships in other areas of the business include Engineering, Marketing, Manufacturing and Operations in our radar equipment business and in various customer support and operational roles in our maritime data services and distribution business.

Kelvin Hughes’ Human Resources Manager, Margaret Bundy, commented: “We have been working with the local colleges and schools for some time now to understand the needs of the educational establishments as well as the students in order to develop the right apprenticeships. With the first apprenticeship now underway, I am delighted everyone’s hard work is paying off.”

Kelvin Hughes has also been working with local organisations to promote the new Kelvin Hughes Apprenticeship Academy and other local employment initiatives.

"Enfield Council, North London Chamber of Commerce and Enterprise Enfield have all played a key part by supporting this initiative wholeheartedly” Margaret also commented.

Cllr Alan Sitkin, Cabinet Member for Economic Regeneration for Enfield Council said: “I applaud Kelvin Hughes for their commitment to training the workforce of tomorrow with their new Apprenticeship Academy.

“By training these young people in the specialist skills they need to succeed in this competitive area we are ensuring that they are equipped with the training required to succeed in their career. It would be fantastic to see other private companies following suit.

“Enfield Council is committed to working with businesses in Enfield to create the conditions to help them flourish and thrive in today’s competitive economic environment, we are a pro-business council and we are working hard to encourage jobs, growth and employment in this borough with our partners in the private, public and voluntary sectors.”

Kelvin Hughes’ IT Apprentice, Abbie Vivers, commented: “Having this opportunity is very exciting and I am keen to start learning and working on my own projects and as part of the international IT projects Kelvin Hughes is currently running.

"I am very lucky to have an apprenticeship opportunity and even happier to work for a major international technology company that is local to where I live”.