Madeley firm takes on local lads

Callum Shropshire, 18, and Tomas Workman, 17, are two of three new apprentices to be appointed by contracting firm Gra-Bern Electrical as it looks to begin expanding once again.

They are joined by Leighton Harrington, 17, after all three local lads impressed bosses during a three-month trial at the Madeley firm.

Now they will be spending four years on their apprenticeships – combining learning in the classroom at Telford College of Arts and Technology and on-the-job training with qualified electricians.

Graham Brown, senior partner at the domestic, commercial and industrial electrical contractors said: "I am really pleased that the three young recruits are proving a success, we took on our first apprentice in 1984 and of the lads working for us now, all except one started as school leavers.

"We at Gra-Bern pride ourselves on not using agencies and we don't take on temporary staff – we are not a hiring and firing company.

"With the problems facing the industry and the economy in general, we had a gap and have not taken on any apprentices for the last couple of years, now that things appear to be improving we decided to re-start our apprenticeship scheme."

Graham and Bernard Bowen set up the company in 1976. Mr Bowen has since retired, with remaining partner Mick Goodwin staying on board.

Mr Workman said: "I am loving the work and the chance to gain experience in the workplace."