AN apprenticeship presents a fantastic opportunity for the apprentice and the employer.
The trainee can earn while they learn and the company employs a young person with an appetite for work and a willingness to develop new skills.
The Post has talked to scores of apprentices in recent years and they have almost always been impressive individuals, determined to succeed. Today, we are launching a campaign to identify 300 new apprenticeships in Nottingham within 100 days.
It is an ambitious target, which if met, would reduce the youth unemployment rate in the city by two percent. That in itself makes the campaign worthwhile. But in fact the gains that will stem from hitting the target will be so much greater.
Young people who take up trainee posts get more than a job; they get the skills that will make them employable for years to come and research suggests they will earn more in their working life as a result of that training early in their career.
This is the third year the Post has been involved in the campaign to find more apprenticeships.
In the first year, we helped identify more than 100 apprenticeships during the 100-day period, and last year it was more than 200.
We have upped the target this year because Nottingham has united behind the campaign like never before. The Post, Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire Chamber of Commerce, the City and County Skills Board, and National Apprenticeship Service have now been joined by Nottingham City Council.
If you are a young person considering an apprenticeship my advice would be, go for it. The city is behind you.