SIX people will have the opportunity of an apprenticeship with Chippenham company Fascia Graphics in the year that it celebrates its 20th anniversary.

The new apprenticeship roles form part of the Government-backed GrowthAccelerator initiative, which the firm on Bath Road hopes will help it achieve its ambition of doubling its turnover by 2018.

Fascia has announced the new scheme as part of National Apprenticeship Week, saying apprenticeships help not only candidates looking for work but also the businesses that take them on.

It said several young adults in the past had entered full-time employment with it after successfully completing apprenticeships there.

It will work with Wiltshire College and Avon Vale Training on the new scheme, which allows young adults to achieve an NVQ over the course of 12 to 18 months at the same time as gaining working knowledge of one of the six apprenticeship roles: sales/admin; engineering; design; printing; finishing; and membrane assembly.

Operations manager Gary Knowles said: “Being able to nurture young talent in the manufacturing industry is a positive way to increase the size of a team or business and will allow us and other companies to maintain capacity.”

At the moment Fascia, which manufactures graphic overlays and membrane keypads, serves more than 800 customers around the world.

Managing director Paul Bennett said: “Small medium enterprises (SMEs) account for the majority of engineering jobs in the UK and increasing the number of engineering apprenticeship programmes available across the country is something every SME can do. ”

As part of the programme, Fascia will also have access to £2,000 match-funding for senior managers to hone their leadership and management skills.

For further information on Fascia’s apprenticeship scheme, people can email Gary Knowles at gary.knowles@fasciagraphics .co.uk