MITIE, the FTSE 250 strategic outsourcing company, has won two highly prestigious Business in the Community awards for its ground-breaking Real Apprentice scheme. 

The scheme won the „innovation‟ and „large company‟ categories in the UK leg of the BITC‟s European Volunteering Awards and will now go forward to the Europewide competition. 

The Real Apprentice scheme works to help people of all ages and backgrounds back into the world of work through placements both at MITIE and with its clients. With support from mentors, the „apprentices‟ get the opportunity to work in a number of different roles. 

The programme is designed to break down barriers that people face when they‟re looking for employment. With the help of mentors from both MITIE and its clients, the Real Apprentices get the opportunity to work in a number of different roles. 

Since the start of the scheme in 2005, 197 people have taken part, with 134 real apprentices completing the programme and 97 of those being offered permanent jobs, both at MITIE and with other employers in London and Glasgow. Plans to extend the scheme to other regions are underway following its success in London and Glasgow.

Jane James, Employment Regeneration Director at MITIE, commented: “We are delighted to be awarded the European Employee Volunteering Award UK. The Real Apprentice scheme gives people from all walks of life the opportunity and support to achieve their goals. 

“Not only is there a social and moral case for working together to make a difference to peoples‟ lives, there is a solid business case. The Real Apprentice is about people helping people, and we encourage all individuals and organisations to get involved.” 

Stephen Howard, CEO of Business in the Community, commented: “Businesses can play a valuable role in supporting those who face multiple barriers to work in getting back into the workplace. This is good for society and for business. 

“I would like to congratulate MITIE Group for winning the UK leg of these awards and wish them the best of luck against their European counterparts. In turn I hope others will be inspired to increase and improve their level of activity during the European Year of Volunteering.

-ENDS-

Notes for editors

What is MITIE?
We’re the strategic outsourcing company. What does that mean in practice? We manage facilities, properties and assets for our clients across the UK and beyond.

We work with our clients in three ways; some take full advantage of our whole range of expertise, others may only need one aspect of what we do:

Strategy and consultancy
+ Facilities and project management
+ Service delivery

Our strategic input can add value at the highest level by helping clients to manage their assets, while our practical management expertise can save customers money and reduce their carbon emissions. We work with a vast number of clients in every industry across both the public and private sectors and deliver the broadest range of services that can be found in one place: from integrated facilities management to engineering maintenance to lifecycle energy management and much more.

There’s a lot more to MITIE than you probably think. We’re a big company with big ambitions – a leading FTSE 250 support services business, with more than 56,000 people, revenues in excess of £1.7bn, and a reputation for being the best.

Visit us at www.mitie.com 

About Business in the Community 

Business in the Community stands for responsible business. We are a business-led charity with a growing membership of 850 companies, from large multinational household names to small local businesses and public sector organisations. We advise, support and challenge our members to create a sustainable future for people and the planet and to improve business performance.
Our members work with us to define what responsibility looks like in the workplace, marketplace, community and the environment - and we share what we learn about driving performance through responsible business practice.
Business in the Community is one of The Prince's Charities, a group of not-for-profit organisations of which The Prince of Wales is President. 2010 marks HRH The Prince of Wales's 25th Anniversary as our President. www.bitc.org.uk