National Apprenticeship Week: Why trainee schemes are the perfect fix for companies and youngsters

Gill Durkin, business development director at Performance Through People (PTP), has helped thousands of people into apprenticeships.

She said: "Apprenticeships are the perfect fix for some companies – especially those that are in manufacturing and have very specific skills.

"They allow you to train your own people how you want them – not how they have been trained by someone else.

"They are also ideal for succession planning. Apprentices are more likely to stay with your company and progress through, providing stability to your business."

PTP has training centres in Walsall, Cannock, Wolverhampton, and Birmingham. It is also a key partner in the Express & Star's Ladder for the Black Country and Ladder for Staffordshire apprenticeship campaigns, which have created around 1,000 apprentices for young people.

She said: "One of the key reservations from companies is the training cost and the time it takes to train them. Training is essential. It is a commitment between the employer and the employee.

"When you consider the costs of having to constantly advertise for staff, have vacant positions, and still not necessarily get the right people through, the question turns on its head and is a case of can you afford not to have an apprentice?"

Mrs Durkin said many young people are not necessarily encouraged about starting an apprenticeship.

But she said that had started to change and more schools were promoting them as a route into work.

She said she had a similar experience when she left Blue Coat School in Walsall rather than staying in education.

She said she was told she was making a mistake. "My parents were really disappointed," she said. "My brother had just gone to university and they wanted me to do the same. I left the school on the Tuesday and started a job the next day – it was right for me and is the right route for others."

PTP managing director Rob Colbourne added: "There is no greater thrill than seeing apprentices who have gone on to win awards or to secure brilliant jobs."

This week is National Apprenticeship Week which is promoting opportunities across the country. To find out more, go to ladderforthe blackcountry.co.uk or ap prenticeships.gov.uk