Queens Cross Housing Association is expanding its Modern Apprenticeship programme to help give young people in north Glasgow a step up the career ladder.

They are in the market for a new trainee electrician and an apprentice plumber to join the team that manages more than 4000 homes in the city. They will join the two Business Administration MA’s who currently work in their head office.

The successful plumbing applicant will be trained in all aspects of the trade from installing and maintaining central heating, to hot and cold water systems and drainage works.

The varied tasks the apprentice electrician can expect includes installation, maintenance and repair of electrical services such as lighting, sockets, fire alarms and heating controls.

“Modern Apprenticeships are a fantastic way of getting on-the-job training while getting paid, and we are keen to expand the number of opportunities we can offer young people in the area. The variety of jobs we have within the association is hugely diverse and we want our training opportunities to reflect this,” said Queens Cross’s head of HR, Lynne MacDonald.

The Association also works with local schools to offer short-term placements to give pupils a taste of what working for a social landlord is like.

“With the continuing expansion of our stock, 600 new homes are planned for Hamiltonhill over the next few years, we will need more qualified and motivated staff to help us maintain and manage our homes,” said Lynne.

Queens Cross is also currently modelling a new Caretaking MA and will be recruiting Housing MAs in the near future.

“At the moment there is no off the shelf MA in the social housing caretaking role. But there is demand for this job so we will be working with training partners to develop this new qualification that will be recognised within the industry,” added Lynne.

Chris Campbell started as an apprentice plumber with Queens Cross when he was just 16, and has been there ever since. Over his 20-year career he has been named plumber of the year twice, in 2000 and 2001.

He said: “I’ve a great bunch of people I work with and apprenticeships are a great opportunity to get on the work ladder and become a tradesperson. It would take a lot for me to leave. I really like working with the community, my job satisfaction comes from working with tenants.”