Apprenticeships Are Opening Doors To A Better Future For North East Employers

Apr 15 2008 By The Journal

MORE than 130,000 employers are reaping the benefits that apprenticeships can bring, using apprenticeships as a means of getting the workforce they need to succeed now and in the future.

It is becoming increasingly obvious to employers of all shapes and sizes that investing in training is paying dividends. In the North East in 2006/07, 7,940 people completed an apprenticeship - meaning more than 60% of those who started the programme achieve the full qualification. This compares to just over 30% in 2003/04.

The first ever national Apprenticeship Week, promoted by the Learning and Skills Council (LSC), was held recently to celebrate the success of apprenticeships and demonstrate their benefits to businesses of all shapes and sizes. Here in the North East, the LSC brought former County Durham engineering apprentice Vic Reeves back to his roots to visit employers across the region who are benefiting from the apprenticeship programme and to see at first-hand the wide range of skills on offer.

Vic's visit took in the Aston Workshop in County Durham where he helped 19-year-old apprentice Nic Clark from Cramlington with some restoration work on Aston Martins and to Locomotion, the National Railway Museum at Shildon, where Vic met up with David Allison, one his trainers when he did a mechanical engineering apprenticeship with South West Durham Training in the 1970s.

Chris Roberts, regional director, LSC North East, joined Vic on the day. He said: "Throughout the tour, it was clear for all to see what young people and their employers are getting out of apprenticeships.

"No longer are apprenticeships restricted to more traditional industries. Top-class training is available under the apprenticeships banner to cover a huge spectrum of young people's employment ambitions. Young people and adults can be whatever they want to be by choosing the apprenticeship route.

"Our ambition is to encourage more employers to take on apprentices and more young people to consider this career route as an option as it makes good economic sense."    To learn more about how an apprenticeship can help your business, visit www.apprenticeships.org.uk or call 08000 150400.