Pictured: Lee Morris, managing director of NTG Training, and Johnsons head of HR Rebecca Morgan at Afonwen (part of the Johnsons high volume linen division) facilities in Chester.

NTG Training, supported by the Textile Services Association (TSA) and UKFT, is now delivering the first textile care operative apprenticeship scheme in England.

This new programme is designed to equip candidates over the age of 16 who are either new to the commercial cleaning industry or currently working as a laundry, dry cleaning, wet cleaning or garment cleaning operative in a junior role.

It is a level 2 apprenticeship, delivered over a 13-month period, through a blended learning approach combining classroom-based tuition and webinars with on-the-job training. Modules range from cleaning processes, finishing and machine usage, quality, health, safety and environmental, through to IT, communications and time management.

Chester-based NTG already has 50 apprentices on this new programme who are employed by Johnsons, the UK’s leading dry cleaning company, as well as a premiership football club.

“Increasing emphasis on new technology and practices has been seen across the commercial cleaning sector,” said NTG Training managing director Lee Morris. “This means that individuals and organisations alike must ensure that their staff have the necessary skills and competencies to be able to provide clients with the best service.

“Our new apprenticeship scheme supports employers to do just that. We can either help them to recruit and train new high calibre apprentices as they look to grow their team or bring in new skills, or as we are increasingly seeing, by upskilling their current commercial cleaning operatives through investment in training and development.”

The NTG Training textile care operatives apprenticeship is 95% government funded and also available under the Apprenticeship Levy scheme.

For more information about the standard, visit www.ntgtraining.co.uk.

Read more about fashion and textile apprenticeships here.

Fashion and textile apprenticeships