Interserve in pledge on apprentices

Interserve also said that it would increase the number of graduate training opportunities and traineeships available at the company, but didn’t release exact numbers.

Interserve has a workforce of more than 50,000 people, including more than 5,000 in Yorkshire.

The company has also said it will halve its 2013 absolute carbon emissions by 2020 and invest three per cent of pre-tax profit into local communities by 2020.

In 2012, the company recorded headline pre-tax profits of £78.4m on revenues of £1,958.4m.

In 2011, Interserve’s absolute carbon emissions in the UK were 42,090 tonnes CO2e - the equivalent amount of CO2. Interserve’s 2012 report is not yet available.

Adrian Ringrose, chief executive officer of Interserve, said: “Investing in the community, energy and resource efficiency, transparency, innovation, nurturing and motivating employees, and transferring skills and knowledge are integral to our ability to create value.”

Tim Haywood, Interserve’s group finance director and head of sustainability, added: “We have set out today an ambitious and radical plan for the rest of this decade that is designed to challenge our management, our staff and our partners.”