Apprenticeship scheme supports the next plastics generation

Luxus and Polypipe have launched the ‘Compounding Polymer Apprenticeship’ scheme to help solve the skills gap in the plastics industry.

The first group of three apprentice technicians – Callum Ely (16), James Laurence (22) from Luxus and Kamil Ostrowski (22) from Polypipe - has begun the two year multi-site apprenticeship in polymer processing. It is delivered in partnership with Solutions4Polymers and funded by Cogent.

Simon Thompson, quality manager at Luxus, said: “We are really pleased to offer this new scheme to our technicians. It has been widely reported that we are facing a chronic skills shortage in engineering talent in the UK, which is particularly acute in the plastics industry.”

The scheme is part of the Government’s ‘Trailblazer Apprenticeship Standards’ initiative launched earlier this year. Its aim is to help develop apprenticeships in direct consultation with employers to ensure that training is directly relevant to industry needs.