Heathrow Airport pledges to deliver 400 new apprenticeships in 2020

Credit: London Heathrow Airport

With nearly 1,100 apprentices beginning their career journeys in 2019, London Heathrow Airport (LHR) has broken its annual apprenticeship record.

As a result, employers across the Heathrow Airport network have pledged to recruit over 400 more apprentices in 2020. This includes companies such as Dixons Travel, Bradford Swissport, Omniserv, Travelex, Morgan Sindall, Balfour Beatty and World Duty Free.

By working in partnership with the Heathrow Employment and Skills Academy, all partners of the airport have set a target of delivering a further 10,000 new apprenticeships by 2030. Heathrow will directly recruit 20 per cent of the new apprentices in 2020, providing new opportunities in technical areas including legal and airspace.

John Holland-Kaye, Heathrow’s Chief Executive, said: “Keeping the UK’s hub airport running efficiently takes a herculean effort every day, and apprentices are mission-critical. That’s why we have already created 5,000 opportunities in the past decade and, as we grow over the one, we’ll need even more support from talented people. With the creation of 10,000 opportunities by 2030, we will continue to invest in upskilling local people and challenge our partners to think further about what makes a good apprentice, who one day, could be doing my job.”

The decisions follows the launch of a new campaign from the Heathrow Employment and Skills Academy, aiming to tackle the stereotypes and common misconceptions about apprenticeships. The ‘Think Again’ campaign hopes to inspire employers, colleagues and local councils to change their view of apprenticeships, such as only being available to school leavers or the lack of long-term skilled career opportunities.

The campaign will highlight the diverse range of apprenticeship opportunities on offer and how they play a pivotal role at the airport, showcasing the bespoke opportunities for local people to make positive and lasting changes to their lives by finding a career, not just a job.

In order to support businesses to take on apprentices, Heathrow will be hosting the Apprenticeships and Careers Show, helping people from the local communities to find sustainable employment and apprenticeships within Heathrow Airport.