A leading Birmingham engineering firm’s commitment to addressing the UK skills shortage has seen the graduation of 11 students from its pioneering pre-apprenticeship scheme.

In front of an audience of business leaders, mentors and proud parents, the youngsters recently collected their certificates at Adi Group’s (www.adiltd.co.uk) headquarters in Kings Norton. Underlining the scheme’s achievements, it was announced that two of the students would move on to a full-time apprenticeship at the multi-discipline engineering firm.

The pre-apprentice scheme offers local students aged 14 to 16 the chance to learn hands-on engineering skills in a real working environment.

For one afternoon a week for two years, they get the chance to earn an EAL-accredited qualification. Past students on the programme have included 17-year-old Abbie Beaver, who is now a fabrication and welding apprentice at the firm and one of the top female engineers in the UK (as recently named by the Women’s Engineering Society).

Adi Group strategic account director James Sopwith said: “At Adi, we firmly believe in the need to expose youngsters to potential new career pathways at a much earlier age.

“The graduation was not only evidence of the success of our approach but also a demonstration of how committed we are to making our communities more sustainable.

“Our investment in these students extends far beyond just delivering quality local jobs; it’s also part of an ethos to engineer a better future, where businesses and schools of all sectors work together to improve prospects in the region.

“As a company that works with some of the biggest brands in the world, we’re looking forward to showing these students the exciting work available on UK soil.”

Adi has drawn up a guide for other UK businesses to copy its model and create similar partnerships with local schools.

Businesses are invited to sample the guide at: www.adiltd.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/adi-Pre-Apprenticeship-Pack.pdf