TV STAR SEES VALUE OF REAL LIFE APPRENTICES

Back Row: L-R: Simon Bullen, senior
operations director for Kier Sheffield LLP
and Nick Wilson, director of area for the LSC
in South Yorkshire; Front Row: Kier apprentices
working on Painted Fabrics sheltered
accommodation with Michelle Dewberry.

Michelle Dewberry, winner of BBC TV's 'The Apprentice' helped showcase the talent of the region's apprentices as part of the LSC's first National Apprenticeship Week, in February this year.

The inaugural annual Apprenticeship Week celebrated the ongoing success of Apprenticeships, raised awareness of the benefits that they bring to the economy and encouraged more employers to get involved.

The LSC invited Michelle Dewberry, originally from Hull, a successful businesswoman and winner of the second series of the BBC programme, to visit a number of projects across the region where she was given a demonstration of the Apprenticeships in action.

Michelle visited:

• Bradford Community Housing Trust (BCHT) Group apprentices who are providing refurbishment and building works to the Trust's properties
• NG Bailey's Leeds-based specialist training academy
• Cruz 9, the designer shoe store on Grape Lane, York
• The Compass Nursery, Hull, to meet with childcare apprentices
• Sheltered accommodation, Painted Fabrics, in Sheffield, to meet apprentices from building maintenance company Kier Sheffield LLP who are working on site

L-R: Compass Nursery apprentice with
Michelle Dewberry and Jane Lyon, director of
area for the LSC in the Humber.

Margaret Coleman, regional director for the LSC in Yorkshire and the Humber said: "Apprenticeships help employers to get the best of both worlds, enabling their trainees to gain meaningful qualifications at the same time as benefiting from on-the-job experience as members of the workforce.

"Apprenticeship Week celebrates the success of Apprenticeships and demonstrates their benefit to businesses of all shapes and sizes. Nearly 10,000 Apprenticeships were completed in Yorkshire and the Humber in 2006/2007 and our ambition is to encourage more employers to take on apprentices and more young people to consider an Apprenticeship as it makes good economic sense."

Michelle said: "Meeting these young people proves how important Apprenticeships are. The Apprenticeship programmes I've seen this week are really impressive and demonstrate the benefits of integrating trainees into the workforce, as well as the positive impact Apprenticeships can have on a business and the local community. The apprentices were really passionate about their work and they can be proud of the skills they are developing through their on the job training."

L-R: Chris Bilton, apprentice at Cruz 9 shoe
store with Liz Burdett, director of area for the
LSC in North Yorkshire, and Michelle Dewberry.

Research from the LSC, as part of Apprenticeship Week, revealed that employing apprentices has a hugely beneficial impact on overall business performance. A number of organisations who employ apprentices were surveyed and over three-quarters of respondents felt their Apprenticeship programme made them more competitive, while the same number believed Apprenticeships led to higher productivity.

The findings also demonstrate the impact of Apprenticeships on recruitment and retention, with 80 per cent believing that the programme improves staff retention and turnover. Two-thirds of respondents believe their Apprenticeship programme helps them fill vacancies more quickly, while 88 per cent believe Apprenticeships lead to a more motivated and satisfied workforce.

To find out more visit the website by clicking the logo above or call 08000 150 400.

Click the link above to watch a podcast on Apprenticeship Week.