London Heathrow Airport held a ceremony last week (November 4) to celebrate the graduation of 116 apprentices from its specialist training program, the Heathrow Academy.
The academy provides selected applicants with apprenticeships in business administration, customer service, hospitality, logistics, management, retail and team leadership – from entry to advanced level.
Since 2004, more than 5,800 people have benefited from the opportunities provided by Heathrow Academy to learn new skills and move into employment, with 3,687 candidates finding new careers at the airport.
Approximately half of this year’s graduates have come from the five boroughs around Heathrow, and will now join the 76,500 people who work at the airport – that’s one in five jobs in the local area.
John Holland-Kaye, CEO, London Heathrow, said, “Heathrow is an exciting and challenging place to work and demands passion and dedication from everyone working here. In helping Heathrow fulfil its promise of ‘making every journey better’, all our graduates have taken their own journey to personal success.”
Paula Stannett, HR director, London Heathrow, said, “The success of Heathrow Academy apprentices is pivotal in building a talent pipeline at Heathrow for responsible and sustainable business growth. By providing credible and valuable training opportunities for our local communities, by creating careers and not simply jobs, we all benefit.”