But CITB says 300 still looking for new employers

1340 tu apprentice 3 card wide v2

Just 20% of Carillion鈥檚 1,400 apprentices stranded after the firm鈥檚 collapse in January are still looking for new employers.

The CITB said that 320 apprentices at the bust firm were still looking for a new home with the training body鈥檚 Deborah Madden, who has been the operational lead on the team looking to reallocate the 1,400 apprentices, adding: 鈥淭he response has been incredible, the industry has really stepped up. We don鈥檛 feel it will be at a detriment to other apprenticeship places.

鈥淭here鈥檚 no indication that it has been affecting the traditional recruitment of apprentices. It seems employers are creating places and using this to fill skills gaps.

鈥淓veryone from small firms up to major contractors has contributed to finding new places. A lot of the major contractors have worked with their supply chain to reinforce the need to find new places for these apprentices.鈥

Most of the apprentices left were carrying out training in bricklaying, carpentry and joinery mainly in northern towns and cities including Liverpool, Manchester, Sunderland and Middlesbrough.

But CITB did confirm the collapse had cost the industry a number of apprenticeships, with a chunk of Carillion鈥檚 apprentices leaving construction after the firm went bust.