HSS Hire has introduced technical apprenticeship scheme to offer young people a practical post-school option as well as up-skilling a new generation of fitters and technical engineers.

Offered at HSS supercentre locations around the country, aspiring young fitters and engineers will complete a fully-funded three-year Advanced Apprenticeship that includes mentored on-the-job training as well as structured residential study sessions, culminating in NVQ Levels 2 and 3 in Plant Maintenance.

Head of HR at HSS, Annie Hale, said: "For the past 12 months, we've offered an apprenticeship scheme as part of our Hire Alliance consortium in East London. That's grown really successfully and I'm delighted that we're now going to run something similar throughout the wider HSS business too.

"We firmly believe in helping to provide careers rather than just jobs  and we're big on supporting the development of our colleagues. To be able to offer a group of young people - many of them just out of school - the opportunity of not only a job but also training and a career with HSS is something we're really proud to say we will do.

"Our apprentices will get one of the industry's most generous apprenticeship salary and benefits packages; they'll benefit from working alongside our experienced team of fitters and they'll attend fully-funded formal study sessions in order to gain a professional qualification. And of course, if they successfully complete the course, we'll guarantee them a permanent position at the end of their apprenticeship".

HSS has already recruited more than 20 apprentices since the launch of the programme two weeks ago. The new team includes both boys and girls aged between 16 and 24, based at locations throughout HSS Hire's nationwide network.