After helping to create more than 1,000 apprenticeship placements in 100 days, Journal editor Brian Aitken hails one of the newspaper's most successful campaigns.

WHEN we launched the 100 Apprentices in 100 Days campaign (as it was known then), we suspected that our target may be a little on the low side. After all, the North East does have more apprentices per head of population than any other part of the UK, so we knew that the benefits were understood by many businesses.

Our target, however, was based on what had been achieved elsewhere in similar campaigns backed by regional newspapers. And, if we did break the target before the 100-day milestone was reached, we could always set the bar higher, we thought.

Never, though, did we expect not just to smash our target but to achieve more than tenfold the number of apprenticeship placements than we set out to. What a fantastic, remarkable achievement – and what a testament to the efforts of all of our partners in what must count as one of our most successful campaigns ever.

You will read elsewhere in this supplement about some of the apprenticeship placements that have been generated thanks to this campaign. And what immediately strikes you is the huge variety of jobs from such a long list of companies. In fact, our roll of honour is so long that we couldn’t contain it on one page of today’s celebration supplement as planned.

We hope that by highlighting the benefits apprentices can bring to a business and by improving understanding about how apprenticeships work, we have helped to open the eyes of many employers to their undoubted value. This wouldn’t have been possible, however, without the support of the National Apprenticeship Service, our main sponsor the North East Chamber of Commerce, or the dozens of other sponsors, who have supported this campaign throughout. Your backing has been much appreciated.

At a time when unemployment is rising, especially among young people, the apprenticeship opportunities created as a result of this campaign could help start many successful and rewarding careers. Hopefully, they will also bring huge benefits to the companies who employ the apprentices – bringing new energy, fresh thinking and real endeavour to workplaces across the region. And in doing so, these apprentices should contribute towards the growth of the private sector in the North East, which will play such a valuable role in helping our economy to recover.

The Journal is delighted to have played a small part in helping to achieve this – and we look forward to following the fortunes of these 1,355 apprentices with great interest over the coming months and years.