SKILLS minister John Hayes said: "I congratulate The Journal and Evening Gazette, the North East's colleges and training providers and the National Apprenticeship Service for working together to create 1,355 apprenticeships in the North East region over the last three months.
“This is a remarkable achievement that will help change the way this country values vocational skills.
“Having long championed apprenticeships in Parliament, I want to pay tribute to the businesses and organisations that have helped restore them to their rightful place in our national life – as a respected, well-funded and indispensable route for people from all backgrounds to achieve their ambitions.”
NAS regional director John Wayman said: “We have been genuinely overwhelmed by the positive response to the campaign from North East employers.
“To have surpassed our aspirational 500 apprenticeships target is truly exceptional and well beyond our expectations.”
Gateshead-based North East Apprenticeship Company (NEAC), managed to place 54 apprentices as part of the campaign in areas as diverse as environmental, travel and catering.
Paul Champion, managing director at NEAC, said: “The campaign has far exceeded everyone’s expectations and we are very pleased to be given the opportunity to publicise what is fast becoming one of the main sources of employment for many of our young people.
“The campaign has shown employers the benefits of bringing on an apprentice and hopefully more employers will get involved as a result.”
Patricia Wilkinson, director of training and skills development at the North East Chamber of Commerce (NECC), said: “Apprenticeships are phenomenally important. Now more than ever, the business community is looking for a cost effective way of building a skilled and adaptable workforce that can help companies grow.
“Apprenticeships offer a unique way of recruiting employees who can become fully equipped with the theoretical and practical on-the-job skills to make a positive difference to a business. The overwhelming success of the campaign that has been run by The Journal and the National Apprenticeship Service (NAS) with our support, has demonstrated that North East businesses are now in no doubt that recruiting an apprentice will bring real value to their company.
“NECC works with hundreds of businesses each year, putting in place apprenticeship programmes that are specifically designed to meet their needs. Apprenticeships are a fantastic way of addressing key business needs, and recruiting a highly skilled workforce that can be moulded to suit the individual needs of businesses.
“Campaigns, such as this one, play a hugely important role in raising the profile of, and interest in, apprenticeships and it really is testament to the hard work of the Journal, the NAS and all of the other supporters that this has been such a success.”
One of the more unusual apprenticeship placements was with Labour MP for Newcastle North Catherine McKinnell, who has recruited Charlene Curry as a business administration apprentice at her constituency office in Westerhope, Newcastle, with NEAC acting as training provider.
McKinnell is behind the Apprenticeships and Skills Bill, which seeks to increase the number of apprenticeships in the UK through the use of public procurement contracts.
The Bill has received support from Labour leader Ed Miliband, Lord Alan Sugar, the TUC, Federation of Small Businesses, North East Chamber of Commerce, Unison, Unite, GMB, Ucatt, NUS, the Association of Colleges, the Federation of Master Builders and the Electrical Contractors’ Association.
McKinnell said: “The Journal’s apprenticeships campaign has been a fantastic initiative, and the recruitment of over 1,000 apprentices across the region in a matter of months is a truly impressive achievement.
“Supporting people – of all ages – to develop their skills and employability is crucial if the North East is to grow its way of out of the current difficult economic climate, so it’s really encouraging to see employers from all sectors across the region taking up the Journal’s challenge with such enthusiasm.
“My own apprentice is proving a huge asset to my busy constituency office and I know that she greatly appreciates the opportunity to gain relevant, practical work experience whilst also earning a qualification.
“I would like to take this opportunity to thank the North East Apprenticeship Company for all of the support they have offered me in recruiting my apprentice.
“Hopefully, The Journal’s campaign will result in a genuine renaissance in the number and type of apprenticeships on offer across the region. Equally important is to ensure that apprenticeships are now afforded the status that they deserve.”
