“Tens of thousands of students are about to embark on university courses this autumn, yet in this economic climate their only guaranteed outcome is more financial debt than they and their parents ever thought possible,” says Brian Davidson, CEO of Crown Paints Limited.

“At the same time industry is facing a massive skills shortage and crying out for people with strong craft and engineering expertise, vocational qualifications and the type of training that helps them adjust to the world of work. Isn’t it time we got our educational priorities right?”

Davidson is calling on employers to get involved in persuading young people that a university degree is not the only way to a fulfilling career. He points to Crown’s investment in the ‘life blood’ of its own industry, through sponsorship of vocational skills competitions which act as a showcase for school leavers and at the same time encourage participants to achieve their full potential and attain the very highest professional standards.

“As a company we’ve sponsored a high profile regional and national painting and decorating competition for newcomers to the industry for over thirty years,” said Brian, “The Crown Trade Apprentice Decorator of the Year event is an integral part of SkillBuild, the UK’s biggest skills competition for trainees in construction related trades. Managed by CITB-ConstructionSkills, the Sector Skills Council and Industry Training Board for the construction industry, with endorsement from WorldSkills UK, it’s right at the forefront of what the industry is doing to encourage new entrants and drive up standards.”

Now Crown Paints is looking forward to taking its investment to a global level by sponsoring WorldSkills London 2011, the world's largest, international skills event which takes place over four days between 5 - 8 October at ExCel in London’s Docklands. Young people from across the globe will compete to be the best of the best in over 45 different skill areas.

Rachel Terras from Galashiels has the honour of representing the UK in the Crown sponsored painting and decorating competition and will be hoping to take a Gold medal back to Scotland. The 22 year old was offered the opportunity to try for selection for the UK team after achieving success in Crown’s regional and national competitions.

Passionate about training and raising standards at every level, Davidson also reveals that Crown Paints is investing in its biggest apprenticeship programme for many years:

“I’m determined that we have the right calibre of people in our own business and want to give young men and women the start they need by providing apprenticeships wherever possible. In my last company we managed to give fifty young people the opportunity to learn a trade. In the last twelve months at Crown, despite the unprecedented economic downturn, we’ve taken on ten new apprentices in manufacturing, engineering and retail management roles and we have firm plans to recruit more into the business over the next year.

“We’re absolutely committed to investing in people and skills in every way we can, and believe this is fundamental for the good of the business and the wellbeing of the economy.”