- Cadent named ‘Youth Friendly Employer’ by Youth Employment UK
- Company applauded for efforts to offer career opportunities to young people
- Cadent working to tackle shortage of under 24s in the energy and utilities sector
Gas distribution company Cadent has gained the official stamp of approval for its efforts to encourage more young people to take up careers in the gas industry.
Cadent has been named a ‘Youth Friendly Employer’ by Youth Employment UK, the country’s leading organisation dedicated to tackling unemployment amongst young people.
Cadent was awarded the certification by Michael Tomlinson MP, Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Youth Employment.
The company’s partnerships with local schools, its range of engineering and other training schemes for school leavers through to graduates and two dedicated work experience weeks earned it the thumbs up from assessors at Youth Employment UK.
Claire Noble, New Talent Development Manager for Cadent, said: “We are delighted to have been recognised as a Youth Friendly Employer.
“Young people are the life-blood of our industry but there aren’t enough of them in the energy and utilities sector. Over the next ten years our sector is going to need 221,000 engineers so we are working really hard to attract more under-24s.
“As well as providing a range of apprenticeships, training programmes and internships aimed at school-leavers through to graduates, we are also offering opportunities to youngsters still at school through exciting, ‘hands on’ work experience, careers guidance and going into schools to deliver science lessons.”
Pictured: Cadent's Tony Moloney (centre) and Claire Noble receive the Youth Friendly certification from Michael Tomlinson MP, Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Youth Employment.
Laura-Jane Rawlings, Chief Executive, Youth Employment UK, said: “I am delighted to recognise Cadent as a‘Youth Friendly Employers’ for its commitment to providing high calibre work and training opportunities for young people.
“We look forward to working with Cadent and the wider energy and utilities sector.
It will be great to support them as youth friendly employers and connect them with the more than 65,000 young people using our skills and careers resources each month.”
Cadent is one of the first organisations to back a partnership between Youth Employment UK and Energy and Utility Skills (EUS), an organisation that offers expert support on recruitment and training for energy and utility companies.
Recent statistics from EUS revealed a widening ‘youth gap’ in the energy and utilities sector, with nearly a fifth of employees aged 55 or older but only 8% under 24.
Energy & Utility Skills is teaming up with Youth Employment UK and employer members like Cadent to inspire more young people into critical industries. The organisations will use their expertise to support, promote and guide young people to roles or training provision in the sector or to get ‘work-ready’ by developing additional skills.
Chris Mead, Head of HR for Cadent, said: "We are delighted to be an early adopter in the Youth Employment partnership, this aligns to our workforce strategy and our drive to encourage and inspire a more diverse workforce. Cadent is working hard to encourage under 24s into our business, offering internships, apprenticeships and many more opportunities. Being youth friendly is key to supporting them to develop their potential and get them work ready whilst at Cadent.£
Cadent runs three engineering apprenticeship schemes for school leavers, a dedicated Engineering Training Programme for post-A-level students, an industrial placement scheme for University students and two graduate training schemes.
The company has formed partnerships with four schools– Aston University Engineering Academy in Birmingham; Redmoor Academy, Hinckley; Heanor Gate Science College in Heanor, Derbyshire; and Leicester Grammar School in Leicestershire. Partnerships with four more schools are on the cards this year including in London, North West and East Anglia.