London—Dentons is delighted to announce that Mujahid Miah (Muj) and Naz Hoque have successfully completed their one year apprenticeships with the firm and have accepted permanent positions with effect from today. Muj joins the firm as a Technical Support Specialist in the IS department whilst Naz joins as a Junior Credit Controller in the Accounts Department. Both Muj and Naz came to Dentons as apprentices in November 2012 through the charity City Gateway. City Gateway works with many of the most disadvantaged and hardest to reach young people and women, helping them gain the skills and qualifications they need to enter employment.

Dentons has been involved with City Gateway since 2007 and was the first law firm to offer apprenticeships through City Gateway. The firm has provided work experience and apprenticeships to 33 young people as well as employability sessions, world of work tours and graduation ceremonies and also provides legal advice to the charity on a pro bono basis. Last month Dentons sponsored City Gateway's Inaugural fundraising Gala Dinner which raised £47,000. Both Muj and Naz attended the dinner, attended by 300 people, and Naz gave a speech about his experience of working as an apprentice at Dentons which he said had been the first time he truly believed in himself.

Naz later gave a version of his speech to the London office of Dentons during which he commented that, "This wonderful opportunity has changed my life. It has helped me blossom into a strong, confident man who can finally hold his head up high. One secret of success in life is for a man to be ready for his opportunity when it comes, if opportunity doesn’t knock, build a door. Dentons has built up my self esteem, and helped me realise my strengths and overcome my weaknesses. It made me realise that life is a gift, and it offers us the privilege, opportunity and responsibility to give something back by becoming more. Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work."

Eddie Stride, CEO at City Gateway, added, "It is fantastic that Muj and Naz have been offered full time positions at Dentons. Our apprenticeships are designed to equip young people with the skills and experience they need to be successful in the workplace, so opportunities like this not only help to build our relationship with employers like Dentons, but also provide job-ready young people who will be able to make positive contributions to the workforce and have greater hope for the future".

About City Gateway

City Gateway was set up in 1999 by City workers to bring hope to the local community of Tower Hamlets who hadn't benefited from the area’s wider economic development. City Gateway now helps some of the hardest to reach and most excluded young people across and women in London to overcome obstacles to employment such as poor language levels, limited aspirations and a lack of skills through training, apprenticeships and bespoke support to help them progress into employment.

City Gateway runs a youth centre, youth training and employment projects and women and families programmes, alongside a number of social enterprises to create work experience and employment opportunities for local people. In 2011-12 90.4% of City Gateway apprentices successfully completed their apprenticeships, 16.6% above the national average and partnered with the London Evening Standard to deliver the highly successful Ladder for London Campaign. City Gateway was also awarded a Big Society Award and Investors in People Gold.

Find out more at www.citygateway.org.uk

About Dentons

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