Peel Ports expands apprenticeship scheme

PEEL Ports, which is developing the Superport in Liverpool and Port Salford, is launching its first national apprenticeship scheme.
 
The company is starting in Liverpool where it is looking to take on five young recruits for its apprentice  programme which it has been developing for the last 12 months.

The group, which is behind the £300m Liverpool2 deep-water container terminal, aims to recruit 50 new apprentices within the next five years.
 
The new scheme is Peel Ports’ first UK-wide apprenticeship programme meaning that apprentices will be able to gain experience of working at various port operations including sites in Liverpool, Manchester, Dublin, Glasgow, Sheerness and Heysham through a structured programme which can lead up to HND/degree level.
 
Currently Peel Ports employs 41 apprentices across its UK and Ireland ports and terminals. The five new recruits will take the total to 46, including 29 at Liverpool.
 
The announcement comes just weeks after Peel Ports confirmed it will create 75 new jobs in the next three months as part of the first tranche of 500 jobs which will be generated by the construction of Liverpool2.
 
Apprentices joining the business will train to become qualified in either mechanical, electrical or automation engineering over a four year period; with one year full time at college and another three years training on the job, supplemented by further college study.

Howard Sloane, HR director at Peel Ports, said: “We believe the apprentices of today can go on to become our future leaders of tomorrow and the investments we’ve made in this apprenticeship programme are indicative of this.
 
“Our commitments to stimulating employment opportunities, across the UK and Ireland and within the Merseyside region, as well as the ports industry as a whole has never been stronger and we relish the prospects of having new colleagues joining our apprenticeship programme.
 
“Our apprentices are hugely important to us and we want to help each and every one of them develop their career within the industry.”