Employers across the UK are giving young people the opportunity to earn while they learn, and this week alone UK firms have pledged to recruit more than 13,600 new apprentices.
From pioneering youth digital company SB.TV taking on their first apprentice and Birmingham law firm Weightmans offering four apprenticeships, to British Airways confirming 200 jobs for apprentices and Starbucks offering a massive 1,000 apprenticeships by 2014, apprenticeships are taking off in a big way in the UK.
To mark today's Cheltenham Gold Cup, bookmakers Ladbrokes has also announced that it will recruit at least 200 apprentices in South Yorkshire, London and Scotland following a successful pilot on the south coast and in the midlands.
This week at the Big Bang Engineering Fair in London, department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) minister David Willetts launched a new higher apprenticeship scheme in space engineering.
Meanwhile, the latest data from the Apprenticeship vacancies website reveals there are currently 16,770 live vacancies available for potential apprentices to apply for, one of the highest numbers ever recorded.
Skills minister Matthew Hancock MP said: "Apprenticeships deliver for business and the economy, helping employers grow their own talent by developing a motivated, skilled and qualified workforce.
"We want to make going to university or doing an apprenticeship the new norm for young people so I am delighted that during National Apprenticeship Week companies as diverse as Barclays, EE, Ladbrokes and IBM have recognised the huge benefits of apprentices and hired more young people.
"These companies are among 100,000 employers who offer apprenticeships across 200,000 locations."
David Way, chief executive of the National Apprenticeship Service, said: "This has been one of the most successful National Apprenticeship Weeks ever in terms of the number of new apprenticeships announced by large and small employers.
"All of these apprenticeships will meet rigorous quality standards designed to ensure apprentices get an excellent opportunity. We have also seen a huge number of events take place around the country and a significant commitment to the future of apprenticeships with the Government's response to the Richard Review."
