Clarkson Evans wins National Apprentice Employer Award - 1 July 2011
  Gloucester-based electrical contractors Clarkson Evans have scooped the Medium Apprentice Employer prize at the prestigious National Apprenticeship Awards.This year's awards attracted thousands of entries from across the country and the chosen few were invited along to this week's ceremony at the Mermaid Conference Centre in .  Having fought off tough competition, Clarkson Evans was presented with this much coveted national award that recognises their commitment to apprenticeships.The company specialises in wiring brand new homes - around 7,000 of them a year for national house builders including Barratt, Taylor Wimpey and Persimmon.  It now has almost 300 employees, including 90 apprentices spread across its eight branches.  In these tough times for the construction sector, Clarkson Evans is bucking the trend by expanding and they put much of their success down to their investment in staff training."It's only by employing apprentices and training them in-house that we've been able to develop a dedicated workforce with the right skills", said Steve Evans, managing director.  "We always look for people who are keen to forge long-term careers with Clarkson Evans and many previous apprentices have grown with the company, taking on more responsibility and helping us maintain high levels of customer service as we continue to expand".Apprenticeships are very high on the Government's agenda right now and Clarkson Evans is a great example of how this government funded training genuinely benefits employers.