New Apprentices Recruited

A gas firm whose 2005 apprenticeship scheme ended a ten year training drought in the region has launched a new bid to find even more recruits.

United Utilities, which runs the region’s 36,000km network of gas mains, is hunting 21 new apprentices for its second training scheme, which starts in September.

The apprentices will be based at depots in Leeds, Bradford, Hull, Heckmondwike, Sunderland, North Tyneside, Middlesbrough, Bishop Auckland, Carlisle and Workington.

United Utilities has around 1,100 staff across Yorkshire, the North East and northern Cumbria and is employed by distribution company Northern Gas Networks to look after its pipes.

Until United Utilities took over the running of the gas mains network last June, the region had not had a gas mains apprenticeship scheme in more than ten years and was facing a potential skills shortage.

This year’s apprentices will be based across the Northern Gas Networks region with 11 in Yorkshire, seven in the North East and three in Cumbria. Most will train as emergency and mains replacement engineers but four will learn the specialist role of electrical and instrumentation engineering.

For more information about becoming a gas mains apprentice visit the careers pages of the United Utilities website on www.unitedutilities.com