New Commonwealth Apprentices at ng homes in North Glasgow

A LEADING housing association in Glasgow, ng homes, has just taken on five new apprentices as part of Glasgow City Council's Commonwealth Apprenticeship Initiative.

ng homes is the largest community based housing association in Glasgow, providing housing services to around 5,500 tenants in communities across the north of the city, with an annual turnover in excess of £20million. It also operates an award-winning social enterprise, ng2, which provides training and employment opportunities for local people in areas such as property management and environmental maintenance.

ng homes has supported the council's Commonwealth Apprenticeship Initiative since its introduction, and these are the latest apprentices to have started work with the association as part of the programme.

The Commonwealth Apprenticeship Initiative forms part of the council’s flagship £50million Glasgow Guarantee, the largest, most comprehensive and best funded range of support for unemployed people offered by any local authority in the UK. It provides meaningful opportunities for school leavers, graduates, care leavers and our armed forces veterans. To date over 5,600 people have secured a job or apprenticeship as part of the Glasgow Guarantee, which the council has committed to funding until 2018.

Councillor Gordon Matheson, Leader of Glasgow City Council, said: "Since its introduction the Commonwealth Apprenticeship Initiative has helped over 3,600 young people in the city secure an apprenticeship. Its success is based on the continued support of employers such as ng homes who are providing not only quality housing services but also valuable training and job opportunities in communities across the city.

“The council has committed funding the Glasgow Guarantee right through until 2018, ensuring that we continue to provide opportunities for our young people, care leavers, university graduates and armed forces veterans.”

Robert Tamburrini, CEO of ng homes, said: “Our five new young apprentices have been working across the different areas of the business including Housing Operations, Corporate Services, Investment, Finance and Customer Service. In the short space of time our latest apprentices have been with us they have made a valuable contribution to the business.

Our subsidiary ng2 have also benefitted from the apprenticeship programme with painters and electricians now in their second and third years carrying out quality work on our properties."

Board member Professor James Sommerville said “We believe apprenticeships provide the skilled workers that ng homes and its subsidiaries need for the future and there’s nothing better than seeing people who started apprenticeships with us go on to achieve full time employment with us or elsewhere in the housing sector.”

Juliette Duff, from Maryhill who is working in the Corporate Services Team said: “I am really enjoying working for ng homes, I have learned lots of new skills already and it’s a great opportunity to progress my career as I study for my housing qualifications. I would say to any young person thinking about an apprenticeship to go for it!