More manufacturing apprentices for North East

Almost 500 engineering and manufacturing companies have taken on apprentices – meaning the number of firms recruiting apprentices has increased from 16% to 23% over the past two years. Kevin Fitzpatrick (pictured), Nissan's vice president for manufacturing in the UK, who chairs the North East Skills Alliance, co-ordinated by Semta, said the figures were encouraging but there was no room for complacency. "We are delighted to see such a significant increase in the number of apprentices being recruited," he said. "Our aim is to have 50% of North East engineering and manufacturing companies taking on apprentices by the end of 2016. "A lot of work is going into making it as easy as possible for companies to offer apprenticeships and graduate programmes, and to upskill their current workforce. "We need to see more firms, particularly smaller and medium-sized businesses, taking on apprentices if we are to meet the skills challenge this region faces. The figures are moving in the right direction but we must keep up the momentum." Sue Price, NAS divisional apprenticeship director – north, said: "The engineering sector in the North East has a proud history of apprenticeships and we are delighted to see that numbers are increasing. "With an increasing demand for higher level skills, their importance has never been greater. For a strong and growing economy we must have a high level of skills to meet employer demand and apprenticeships are vital way of achieving this."