Training charity JTL recently hosted a parliamentary reception to mark the launch of its new programme to encourage more women into building services engineering apprenticeships.

The 10 inaugural Apprentice Ambassadors were chosen from across England and Wales and are all current and former JTL apprentices, selected as a result of their personal success and passion for promoting apprenticeships.

Throughout the year, the Ambassadors will go into schools and speak at local events in an attempt to encourage more young women to become apprentices in the sector. They will also act as mentors to any girl who signs up for a JTL apprenticeship, and the training charity is hoping to appoint more Apprentice Ambassadors next year, as the number of women applying for apprenticeships increases.

JTL Chairman Dr Ian Livsey said: “We wanted to bring the Ambassadors to Westminster to highlight the issues which prevent women from entering these apprenticeships. We have helped more than 40,000 apprentices train over the last 24 years, but only a small percentage have been female.