An apprentice who was hand-picked to meet the business minister has told how he offered to go back to his old school to talk to potential future recruits – only to be sent packing.
Tom Walden, a recruit at Croydon-based Nestlé UK, was among a small group of apprentices chosen to meet Mark Prisk MP this week to highlight how apprentice schemes have helped get young people on the career ladder.
But Walden, who said he had been given “lots of support” from Nestlé, told industry leaders there had been no such positive response from his school.
“He can’t get in through the door of his old school,”said Terry Jones, director of communications at the FDF, which organised the event. “The industry has to have some ambassadors and these young people have a really inspiring story to tell.”
The FDF is planning to launch an ambassador programme in the new year which will include apprentices from the industry visiting schools around the country.
Jonathan Bye, MD of drinks company Vimto, who was at the event, said he was disgusted at the attitude of the school. “I’d have thought they’d have bitten his hand off,” he said.
Bye added he had been shocked at the standard of some job applications, mentioning a chemistry graduate from Liverpool University who sent a letter riddled with simple spelling mistakes.
“I find it alarming that university leavers can’t write a letter,” he said. “If you give them a simple calculation, they get it wrong. We must somehow improve the calibre of the workforce.”
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