A trade body which represents construction and civil engineering businesses has joined forces with a group which works to promote apprenticeships.
The Midlands' arm of the Civil Engineering Contractors Association (CECA), which supports and lobbies for companies across the sector, is working with the Ladder Foundation to help create more apprenticeships in the industry.
The Ladder Foundation is behind the Ladder for Greater Birmingham initiative which launched in 2018 with the aim of creating thousands of apprenticeships across Birmingham and Solihull.
It is also a partner in our annual apprenticeship awards which were last held in November and has run similar 'Ladder' programmes in the Black Country, Staffordshire, Coventry and Warwickshire and Shropshire.
It works to bring together training providers and potential apprentices with those employers looking for new staff, working with household names such as Greater Birmingham and Solihull Local Enterprise Partnership, Birmingham City Council, HS2, Openreach and the NHS.
The new tie up with the CECA is aiming to contribute towards the 10,000 new starters that are needed every year in the Midlands' civil engineering sector to meet demand and deliver projects that are earmarked for the region up until 2027.
Research suggests that the sector has seen a rise in the age of its workforce, with reports last year that 23 per cent of employees were over 55 compared with just ten per cent in 1990.
Lorraine Gregory, director of CECA, has supported calls for the industry to think differently with its approach to recruitment.
She said: "Ladder Foundation has done a tremendous amount of important work in helping to encourage employers and schools with their approach to apprenticeships.
"This has led to thousands of jobs being created, with young people gaining employment and allowing construction companies to start solving the problem of ageing workforces.
"Ongoing training is important and that's something CECA supports our members with and that will only grow and develop further now we are linked up with the Ladder Foundation too."
Ladder Foundation chairman Kevin Davis added: "The foundation recognises our need for apprentices to be given opportunities in the key sectors of transport, energy, water, waste, and communications.
"I'm so pleased our collaboration with CECA, the authoritative voice for the companies who build, maintain and upgrade the nation's vital infrastructure, will further provide that Ladder of opportunity for apprentices."
