How apprenticeships are helping to forge new careers

Apprenticeships are seen as a fantastic way for employers to train new staff cost-effectively.

Young apprentices make contributions to the workplace while they are learning, gaining skills on the job, and businesses can receive government incentives as well.

The Ladder for Shropshire is a one-stop-shop offering impartial advice and support to encourage employer, to offer more apprenticeships.

To illustrate why apprenticeships are such a great idea for both businesses and people of all ages, the Ladder recently caught up with some apprentices who were carving out a diverse range of great careers here in Shropshire.

FFION HOBBS, a Carpentry Apprentice at Shrewsbury Colleges Group

As an A-level student studying product design, I really enjoyed making things. It was this creative interest that I wanted to pursue and so, having moved to Shrewsbury in 2016, I signed up at the college for a level one course in carpentry.

In many ways, I was following a family tradition as my mum had enrolled to a building studies diploma and my grandfather had been the head of building back in the day.

In the following March, Shrewsbury College advertised a carpentry apprenticeship vacancy which I successfully applied for.

Focussing on bench joinery, this was ideal for me, offering a variety of work, assisting the technician at the college as well as making products such as window frames and staircases for the electrical department.