Half of Carillion's apprentices still looking for new firms

Half of Carillion’s 1,400 apprentices are still on the hunt for new positions a month after the contractor went bust.

The latest figures from the CITB revealed that 681 ex-Carillion apprentices have now been placed with new employers.

But more than 700 are still looking for a new firm in order to complete their apprenticeships.

Since Carillion went under on 15 January, 1,184 employers have approached the training body offering job opportunities.

The CITB said it had contacted every Carillion apprentice and held face-to-face meetings with 1,218 of the learners.

A spokesperson from the CITB said all sectors of the industry had shown an “overwhelming amount of support for the Carillion learners”.

Last week, cabinet minister David Liddington revealed four big housebuilders had pledged to absorb any Carillion apprentices who have not found new placements by the time the CITB finishes relocating as many trainees as it can.

“That is more than our initial estimate, because, as the Official Receiver has started to disentangle Carillion’s affairs, we found that some apprentices were employed by other Carillion group entities; we must not forget that the majority of Carillion’s work was for private sector customers rather than public sector customers,” he said.

Liddington also revealed that the CITB had created a £1.5m cash incentive programme to encourage employers to take on apprentices and that the Education and Skills Funding Agency had reallocated the funding it was paying Carillion for training to the CITB.