Pictured above: (front) Mick Shipway, Managing Director of MSE Mechanical & Electrical Services and apprentices (left) Lewis White and (right) Dominic Kitchen

A Redditch Electrical Engineering specialist, MSE Mechanical & Electrical Services has appointed two new apprentices thanks to Birmingham Electrical Training (BET) and the Government Employer Grant Scheme.

The Hewell Road based engineers joined forces with Birmingham Electrical Training (BET) in a bid to secure an Employer Grant to fund the appointment of two apprentices.

BET secured a total grant of £5,000 for MSE Mechanical & Electrical Services under the Employer Grant scheme, which offered contractors £2,500 as an incentive to take on unemployed 16 - 17 year old apprentices.

The National Apprenticeship Service (NAS) announced the new grant scheme in January this year offering an Employer Grant in a bid to make it easier for employers to take on young apprentices.

BET immediately called on contractors in the region in a bid to create new opportunities for desperate young apprentices who were finding themselves without an employer in South Birmingham.

It gave MSE Mechanical & Electrical Services the opportunity and incentive to take on two apprentices this year in a bid to extend its contracting work in Birmingham.

Mick Shipway, Managing Director of MSE Mechanical & Electrical Services, said: "We have a lot of trust in BET from our many years working in partnership.

"BET worked hard in the West Midlands to secure the Employer Grant. This was the incentive we required to open our doors to additional apprentices.

"It is very important we lead the way in providing such opportunities for young people in Redditch and the West Midlands, as they are the future of our sector and without our leadership there would be a skills shortage in the Electrical industry. 

"BET support and provide us with the best apprentices who want to learn the trade and gain on the job training."

MSE Mechanical & Electrical Services has over 25 years experience in the commercial and industrial environment, specialising in a wide range of building installation and maintenance services across the mechanical, electrical and data sectors.

John Sims, Director of Birmingham Electrical Training (BET), said: "MSE Mechanical & Electrical Services has gone beyond our expectations and provided two of our young people with apprenticeships.

"It is thanks to contractors like MSE Mechanical & Electrical Services that our young people have the opportunity to work and develop their skills 'on the job' with the experts in the Electrical industry."

Birmingham Electrical Training has been providing work based learning and training in the electrical installation sector and West Midlands for over 20-years.