Housebuilder Persimmon has welcomed North East Fife MP Wendy Chamberlain to its Eden Woods development in Guardbridge, to met with four of the homebuilder's bricklaying and roofing apprentices to hear how they are developing their skills and gaining valuable experience of the construction sector.

During the visit, Ms Chamberlain was joined by Persimmon North Scotland's Managing Director James MacKay and Chief Executive of Homes for Scotland Jane Wood. The trio met with the local Persimmon team to discuss the important role that apprentices play within the business, as well as the home builder's plans for continued investment across Fife.

The Eden Woods development in Guardbridge will feature 334 new private homes, with a further 100 affordable homes being transferred to Fife Council to support people in housing need.

Persimmon is one of Scotland's largest employers of bricklaying apprentices – with the company's apprenticeship programme including both young people and adults who are upskilling. The current crop of apprentices are undertaking a mixture of bricklaying, joinery and roofing modern apprenticeship frameworks and include the company's first three female apprentices in Scotland.

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Wendy Chamberlain MP said: "Apprenticeships are essential to the local economy and particularly important in the construction sector. I am grateful to Persimmon for inviting me to mark Apprenticeship Week by visiting their development.

"Talking to the staff and apprentices, it was clear how valuable their apprenticeships are to all those taking part in them, both young people and adults who are taking on news skills. I welcome Persimmon's commitment to providing these opportunities to a wide range of people and hope they continue to build on their success."

Jane Wood, Chief Executive at Homes for Scotland, said: "As the importance of attracting new and diverse talent into the house building sector remains critical, it was a great to see Persimmon's continued commitment to apprentices as an important pipeline for their future talent pool from across Scotland's communities. It was clear from speaking to the apprentices that the opportunities provided to them, as well as the training and support from Persimmon, will have a positive, long-term impact on their career trajectory."

James MacKay, Persimmon North Scotland Managing Director, said: "It was great to welcome Wendy and Jane to Eden Woods and introduce them to some of the impressive young people gaining valuable skills and experience on our site. We want to create opportunities in our sector for everybody within the communities in which we build and we've made real progress in increasing the number, and improving the diversity, of our apprentices in recent years.

"Scottish Apprenticeship Week is an ideal opportunity to recognise the valuable contribution apprentices make to our business and we're committed to ensuring they are a big part of our future talent pipeline here in Fife and across Scotland."