Wakefield and District Housing (WDH), the main provider of social housing in the area, has confirmed that it has taken on seven new young apprentices.
The organisation has employed a trainee bricklayer, a joiner and a roofer, along with two trainee electricians. Each of the apprentices are aged between 16 and 19, and are joined by two apprentices who have been taken on to work in the company's IT space.
The Wakefield Express reported that the new hires met WDH chief executive, Kevin Dodd, at the company's offices which are based at Merefield House in Glass Houghton, in order to sign their new contracts.
Mr Dodd told the publication: “We are delighted to welcome our new apprentices on board and have high hopes for them all. This is a proud and exciting day for them, their families and for WDH and we look forward to helping nurture their skills over the coming years to turn them into top quality professionals in the future.”
One of the apprentices that has been taken on by the organisation is 18-year-old trainee bricklayer Brad Linley, who hails from Lupset in Wakefield. He told the newspaper that he was “really pleased” to have been offered the opportunity to complete an apprenticeship at an organisation such as WDH as it offered him a chance to “learn the trade and is a great platform for the rest of my career”.
WDH currently manages 31,000 properties across the Wakefield region and has an employee headcount of 1,400 people.