The UK faces “a looming skills time bomb with more than 400,000 construction workers due to retire over the next five years and the number of new entrants declining”, according to a survey by the Chartered Institute of Building.

The report recommends an increase in the number of trade apprenticeships as a way of tackling the challenge.

One person who has snapped up an apprenticeship is 19-yearold Danny Ross, from Stanford - le- Hope. He was recently accepted in a traineeship post by UK Power Networks.

On completion of his apprenticeship, he will work full-time for the company, which distributes power across Essex, London and the south east.

Danny, of Copland Road, is one of 30 apprentices in the region taken on each year by UKPN, which supplies power to more than a quarter of the British population.

Once fully trained, he will join the skilled teams, which keeps power flowing round the clock, in all types of weather and working conditions.

The apprentices will learn aspects of the job such as climbing poles, connecting power cables, and fitting out and maintaining electricity substations. At the end of the programme, Danny will be awarded a Qualification and Credit Framework diploma in electrical power engineering.

He will be based at UK Power Networks’s offices in West Ham, while he trains initially to become an electrical fitter.

He said: “I have always wanted to work for an electricity distribution company. I’m looking forward to the apprenticeship period and the work.”

He also sets store by the career development opportunities that can follow and said: “I won’t mind staying in the field for the rest of my career and if the chance comes up to work my way up through the ranks, then I will take it.”

One person who built a successful career on the back of a traineeship is Patrick Clarke, now director of network operations at UK Power Networks.

He said: “There couldn’t be a more exciting time to join the electricity industry, with new technology bringing faster changes in the next ten years than ever before.

“We look for people with a great attitude, keen to serve their communities and critically safety conscious.”

“Our apprenticeship scheme helps address a shortage in the number of electrical craftsmen joining our business to train as linesmen, joiners and fitters.”

UK Power Networks offers three-year foundation apprenticeships for school leavers, plus two-year advanced apprenticeships. To find out more. Visit ukpowernetworkscareers.co.uk