Video Report: Apprentices will drive economic growth

THE value of apprenticeships to the economy was highlighted at a specialist seminar attended by key regional employers.

The event, hosted by the National Apprenticeship Service and TheBusinessDesk.com, was held in association with the Met Hotel in Leeds yesterday and saw

and audience of employers and training providers hear from a panel including Welcome to Yorkshire chief executive Gary Verity, Anthony Knowles, employer services director for the National Apprenticeship Service in Yorkshire and the Humber and Alison Ashworth-Brown, who is head of Ilkley-based NG Bailey’s Engineering Academy.

Mr Knowles said that the aim is to increase the number of apprentices in the UK from 250,000 to 400,000 and they are increasingly being taken on in a variety of non-traditional sectors including education, the media and IT.

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Mr Verity, who heads up the region’s tourism body, explained how the tourism industry can take advantage of apprenticeships to boost the regional economy and highlighted the fact that Yorkshire-born celebrity chef Brian Turner started his career as an apprentice.

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Alison Ashworth-Brown explained that family-owned construction services group NG Bailey has almost 200 apprentices and some have gone on to become directors within the firm.

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NAS is keen to promote apprenticeships to priority sectors including construction, engineering, logistics, hospitality and retail but also wants to highlight how apprentices can benefit companies in many other non-traditional industries.

David Parkin, Editor of TheBusinessDesk.com, introduced the seminar and chaired a discussion where the panel answered questions from the audience.

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If you would like further information and advice from the National Apprenticeship Service, please log on to www.apprenticeships.org.uk or phone 08000 150 600.