Churchill Group to donate funds to support London Progression Collaboration

We have committed to donating £40k of our apprenticeship levy fund to support the London Progression Collaboration (LPC) initiative.

Following an introduction from JLL, Churchill Group has decided to join the commercial real estate services company in supporting the pilot scheme being delivered by the Institute for Public Policy Research and the Greater London Authority.

The initiative, which was launched by the Mayor of London, is designed to get low paid, low skilled workers into better quality, higher paid roles. LPC’s current focus is to encourage employers to transfer unspent apprenticeship levy monies to SMEs that would benefit from it, and ultimately support reskilling the recovery following Covid. High-quality apprenticeships can support businesses to address skills gaps and increase productivity, and the LPC recognises that the right apprenticeships benefit individuals, employers and the economy.

Under the Levy Transfer, the LPC will match Churchill to suitable smaller businesses it can then support with specific apprenticeships. It will allow Churchill to not only help support skills development where there are gaps, but also support local businesses and residents.

Melanie Taylor, HR director at the Churchill Group, commented: “We are pleased to have been able to support the LPC in this way and are proud to include the initiative in our apprenticeship strategy. London currently has the lowest level of apprenticeship starts in the UK so we are excited to be able to help address the issue and start partnering with other businesses.”

Churchill is already working with the LPC to provide levy transfer to PF Electrical, a small family-owned electrical engineering business. The company has identified a talented new starter to take on an installation electrician apprenticeship, with a view to them progressing within the business.

Churchill is also working with a small property maintenance business, Ignite Maintenance Services Ltd. The company provides services to domestic and commercial buildings across London and surrounding counties and has a strong track-record of recruiting locally to support its community.