WEAVER Vale Housing Trust is ‘committed’ to employing apprentices, its chief executive has said as the government launch a new levy on businesses across the UK.

From April 6, a levy of 0.5 per cent will be added to businesses that have a wage bill of £3million a year.

The government hopes the tax, which it estimates will raise nearly £3 billion a year, will help create three million new placements by 2020.

Since 2013, Weaver Vale Housing Trust, based in Gadbrook Park, has employed 74 apprentices, with 47 of those going on to secure permanent roles at the trust.

Steve Jennings, chief executive of Weaver Vale, said: “We are committed to developing and keeping local employment talent in the Northwich and Winsford area, by employing apprentices we are doing just that.

“We now have 47 members of staff who were apprentices, working in permanent roles at the Trust. Our track record of apprentice successes is something I am hugely proud of.

“Apprenticeships bring a fresh new dynamic to teams whilst ensuring the Trust is well placed in terms of succession planning.

“I would encourage any firms to look at apprenticeships. I firmly believe our apprentices of today are our leaders of tomorrow.”

According to the Skills Funding Agency, up to 28,000 apprenticeship vacancies are available online at any one time.

Apprenticeships are available in 1500 job roles, covering more than 170 industries, from advertising to youth work and from environmental engineering to legal.

Weaver Vale Housing Trust apprentices receive ongoing mentoring and training in the form of on- the-job training. Apprentices also work towards formal qualifications such as NVQs and degrees.

One of the trust’s many success stories include Carrie-anne Owen.

She completed her two-year apprentice at Cotswold House, which provides quality supported accommodation for homeless women aged 16 to 36 years in Winsford.

The 28-year-old now works in the trust’s Money Matters team, which supports their tenants on financial issues.

Carrie-anne said: “The apprenticeship cemented me into who I wanted to be and how I wanted to help other people.

“It highlighted to me that I want to be as helpful to the community as possible, but I don’t have to do all the hands on stuff, I can do all the background stuff, which is where I prefer to be.”

Another success story is Ben Jackson, who started at the trust in 2007 as a modern apprentice in the customer contact team.

After working in various roles in the trust, last year he qualified as a strategic project facilitator, a role which sees him working across the entire with trust with directors and board members.

Ben said: “I finished college and decided university wasn’t for me, I wanted to get into the world of work. I saw an apprenticeship as the ideal opportunity to get in.”