This year’s National Apprenticeship Week is focused on encouraging young people to ‘Look Beyond’, highlighting the breadth of industries and roles available.

It comes at a time when the need for trade apprentices has never been greater. The Prince's Trust recently revealed that almost half of employers agree there is currently a skills shortage across the UK (47%), and a quarter believe there will still be a shortage in five years’ time.

Over the week apprentices will take part in a ‘Colour & Effects Workshop’ designed supplement their onsite and college training, by providing an opportunity to deepen their understanding of colour theory, language and decorative application effects inspired by the Dulux Colour of the Year 2020 Tranquil Dawn.

The workshops are taking place at the Dulux Academy Flagship site in Slough and across the country in conjunction with five of its partner colleges: South Lanarkshire, Leeds, Bolton, Lincoln and Walsall.

All the apprentices participating will also receive a Dulux Academy goody bag to support their ongoing training.

Vickie Mather, Dulux Academy Lead, said: “We provide ongoing support to our partner colleges, painting contractors and decorators to aid the training of apprentices. This is ever more important in 2020 with the UK facing a housing crisis - and there being a very real shortage of a skilled construction workforce.

“The shortage is a particular obstacle in the painting and decorating industry as the general workforce is ageing and the number of younger people entering the workforce is declining.

“To date we have delivered over 1,500 hours of supported learning to college students and apprentices and National Apprenticeship Week is a fantastic opportunity to allow more people to see the wide range of training and development opportunities available in the decorating industry.”

Mark Rigby, skills development consultant at the Dulux Academy, said: “Whether you’re enterin g the world of work for the first time, or making a change from another career, the Dulux Academy works in partnership with colleges and decorators to support learning and development.

“It’s brilliant to be able to run these sessions across the country to support more students as part of our commitment to upskilling the next generation of trade professionals.”