HUNDREDS of young people are opting to take the apprenticeship route, a Teesside training organisation has said.

The TTE Technical Training Group has enrolled 200 young people onto its training programmes.

TTE is now responsible for more than 650 trainees at various stages of their apprenticeships.

The growth in numbers, a rise of about 18% on 2010’s intake, also emphasises TTE’s charitable status and dedication to supporting the skills development of young people on Teesside.

TTE’s portfolio of apprenticeship programmes is designed to support the engineering, oil and gas, manufacturing, process and chemical industries.

The new intake is spread across a series of specialist technical training programmes including the Tees Valley Production Technician apprenticeship and the Young Scientist programme, which blend respected qualifications with hands-on practical training.

Students will spend two years working towards respected vocational and technical qualifications at TTE’s training centre in South Bank and at Redcar and Cleveland College, in addition to spending a large proportion of their time in the workshops gaining practical experience of a range of engineering disciplines.

The target for the students is to achieve sponsorship from employers at the end of the two years to allow them to complete their training as advanced apprentices.