A new electrical training centre has opened in East Anglia with the backing of a £100,000 charitable effort. Building services charity JTL will run its own training centre on Bowthorpe Industrial Estate after the official opening with the Lord Mayor of Norwich, councillor Judith Lubbock, on Friday March 27.

The JTL was founded in 1990 as a collaboration between the Electrical Contractors Association and the union Unite, before becoming a charity in 2000 offering advanced apprenticeships and National Vocational Qualification (NVQ) assessments in the building services sector.

About 80pc of young people with JTL go on to complete their traineeships, compared to a national average of 60pc, said the charity.

Recruitment levels at JTL have, however, also been higher than the national average, which the charity attributes to a growing interest in apprenticeship careers as university loan debts exceed £30,000 and students are becoming keener to “earn while they learn”.