Partner Article

Contractors Rush to Adopt Higher Pay for Apprentices

Contractors in the North West are leading a charge for fairer rates of pay for apprentices. New figures from social housing regeneration consortium, Procure Plus, have revealed that 92 per cent of the active contractors on its frameworks choose to pay apprentices the ‘Living Wage Plus’ – a 300 per cent increase since its introduction in May 2013.

The Living Wage Plus is an enhanced rate of pay introduced by Procure Plus that sees first year apprentices receive a minimum of £4.57 per hour, £1.84 more per hour than the official minimum wage for the training roles, while second years receive £5.90 per hour.

The improved rate has been designed to break down the financial barrier of a sub-£3 per hour wage created for many who wanted to take up apprenticeships, and tracks the construction Industry Joint Council apprenticeship rates. In this past year alone, 203 individuals who have taken up apprenticeships with Procure Plus’ contractors have benefited from the enhanced wage.

All contractors on Procure Plus’ frameworks are encouraged to pay apprentices the enhanced wage, and the consortium predicts full up-take by February 2016. Those on the frameworks are offered face-to-face support to conduct a cost-benefit analysis to determine how introducing Living Wage Plus will affect their bottom line.

Fiona Sharp, head of service quality at Procure Plus, said: “We strongly support the Living Wage, but believe it could go further - namely to support apprentices. To address this we introduced the Living Wage Plus, to encourage those who might otherwise struggle financially to take up apprenticeship opportunities, and still give them something to strive for – the Living Wage.”

Jack Chatterley, apprentice with contractor Jackson Jackson and Sons Ltd, said: “Earning the Living Wage Plus has made a real difference to me as it’s meant I’ve not had to worry about how I’ll pay my bills while I’ve been training, leaving me more time to concentrate on learning everything I can about electrical installation.”

Bill Williams, contracts director at ER Williams (Painting Contractors) Ltd, added: “We were already a Living Wage employer so jumped at the chance to offer the Living Wage Plus to our apprentices, as we believe it promotes good business practices and sets an example for others. Many of the apprentices we take on are slightly older and have homes to run and families to support, so it’s vital they can earn a wage that enables them to still do this while learning new skills to further their careers.”

ENDS

Further information about Living Wage Plus

In the first year of their training or apprenticeship, employees receive £4.57 an hour or national minimum wage for age if greater. In the second year, they receive £5.90 an hour or national minimum wage for age if greater. Once their training or apprenticeship has been completed, it is expected employees will be paid a minimum of the current Living Wage, which currently stands at £7.85 outside of London.

Notes to editors:

Press enquiries to:

Fiona Mackie or Kirsty Ullah at Tangerine PR

e: Fiona.Mackie@tangerinepr.com / kirsty.ullah@tangerinepr.com

t: 0161 817 6600 f: 0161 817 6601

About Procure Plus

Procure Plus is a North West social housing regeneration consortium that generates efficiencies by leveraging the procurement of construction materials and contractors. As well as delivering effective, value for money schemes and ways of working for its clients, Procure Plus works with housing providers to reinvest a proportion of the savings made by the consortium back into the community, helping to create local jobs and encourage regeneration.

Alongside supporting planned maintenance schemes, Procure Plus has also developed innovative, specialist brokerage models for sustainable retrofit project and new build housing, which provide independent, honest advice for members.

Procure Plus is part of Re:allies, a strategic collaboration which represents over 500,000 homes across the North of England.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Laura Lewis .