Drive is on to recruit more apprentices

Business Secretary Vince Cable said the Government is prioritising investment in apprenticeships, leading to record numbers of places combined with tough new standards to drive up quality. National Apprenticeship Week starts today and is due to be the biggest event of its kind. Firms including British Airways and Hilton Hotels are promising to offer apprenticeships.

Mr Cable said: “Apprenticeships are at the centre of the Government’s skills policy because we know that they work.”

Research has found engineering companies in the north of England are offering more apprenticeships than other areas of the country. Defence giant BAE Systems is to recruit 265 apprentices this year, including 136 posts at its submarine building base in Barrow-in-Furness in Cumbria – the highest intake at the yard for five years.

The building firm, Frank Haslam Milan, is among the region’s companies taking on apprentices. Five are helping build a £2.2m apartments scheme in Sheffield for the over-55s.

And the North York Moors National Park Authority announced last week that it is taking on a 17th apprentice in June – meaning apprentices will make up almost 14 per cent of its workforce.