Apprentice numbers treble across Shropshire

Statistics show that in 2005/06 there were 2,090 people starting apprenticeships with this number rising to 5,960 by 2011/12.

In Shrewsbury & Atcham, the number of people starting apprenticeship programmes in 2011/12 was 1,130, well up on the 370 recorded in 2005/06.

And apprentice numbers have been climbing steadily across the county with similar improvements recorded in Ludlow, Telford, The Wrekin and North Shropshire.

The figures have been revealed by the Million Jobs campaign, run by former Shropshire woman Lottie Dexter to lobby for young people who are unemployed.

She said: "You have to hand it to them, the Government is doing an excellent job to promote and invest in apprenticeships.

"The number of apprentices has risen dramatically since they came to power in 2010.

"But there is lots more to be done," said Lottie, who grew up in Loppington and attended Shrewsbury High School.

"They need to ensure these training courses are top quality and embraced by people from all backgrounds."

The figures for Ludlow showed apprenticeships rising from 270 to 660 between 2005/06 and 2011/12, while in North Shropshire the number rose from 490 to 1,220.

In Telford, the number of apprentices went up from 380 to 1,100, while in The Wrekin constituency the number rose from 580 to 1,850.

Nationally, the Million Jobs analysis showed that people in the north of the country were more than twice as likely to take on an apprenticeship than those in the south.

Northern constituencies such as Richmond (3,560), Beverley and Holderness (2,040) and North Tyneside (1,200) have had the highest levels of apprenticeship starts in 2012/2013.

In comparison, the affluent southern boroughs of Chelsea and Fulham (140) and Kensington (150) have some of the fewest apprenticeship starts.

The provisional results for the 2012/2013 academic year show 110,420 of apprenticeship starts have been in business, administration and law, but just 260 have taken a training role in science and maths.