ROYAL MAIL JOINS GOVERNMENTS FIRST CHANCE APPRENTICESHIP SCHEME
The CWU has welcomed Royal Mail’s announcement today that it has become one of the major employers to sign up to the Governments new First Chance Apprenticeship scheme for young people. Our support is of course subject to a clearer understanding of the detail of the scheme and how it will be implemented within the company.
Given our ongoing discussions with the Government and Royal Mail over the level playing field initiative, the union had been pressing the company for some time to show their support for the key objectives of the Milburn Report.
We had previously sent an outline proposal to the company for the type of apprenticeship scheme we believe that Royal Mail should implement, including the need for guaranteed jobs, alongside decent pay, terms and conditions.
The union now looks forward to discussing the detail of such a scheme with the company in the coming weeks and reaching an agreed way forward.
In the meantime, we have attached further information about the Milburn Report and why we believe Royal Mail is suited to be a leading supporter of this Government initiative.
Along with the General Secretaries of other Labour affiliated Trade Unions, the CWU met with Alan Milburn last week where we collectively pressed him to ensure that Trade Unions are fully involved in the development of new apprenticeship schemes. As such we are aware that the final recommendations from his report are likely to be published within the next couple of months. Further information on the development of this initiative will be sent out in due course.
Any enquiries on the above LTB should be addressed to the General Secretary’s office dlynch@cwu.org.
Yours sincerely
Dave Ward
General Secretary
Martin Walsh
Deputy General Secretary (Postal)
LTB 253/26 – ROYAL MAIL JOINS GOVERNMENTS FIRST CHANCE APPRENTICESHIP SCHEME
Att: Alan Milburn Interim Report and implications for apprenticeships in Royal Mail June 2026
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