Tim Lamb and NEAC,bringing business into schools programme.

 

 

 

 

 

Apprenticeship experts go back to school

 

Experts from a company which finds apprentices for regional companies have gone back to school to teach the latest generation of students the skills required to succeed in business.

The North East Apprenticeship Company’s (NEAC) Judith Jackson and Tim Lamb visited St Joseph’s RC Comprehensive School, Hebburn today (Monday 7^th Feb) to mark the start of National Apprenticeship Week 2011 (7 – 11 February).

The event aims to highlight the talents and skills of apprentices and celebrate the value of apprenticeships.

Tim – who is the general manager of the Metrocentre and NEAC’s first ambassador – promoted the benefits of apprenticeships, sharing his positive experiences and how they have shaped his own career.

They explained how an apprenticeship can provide that important first step on the ladder to career success.

Possessing a positive attitude, being confident and well organised, as well as being good with people, were just some of the tips given to the students, many of who were thinking about how they could improve their chances of getting a job when they leave school later this year.

Tim explained how his career had began when he became an apprentice in the parts department at Mill Garages when he was 16-years-old. This paved the way for a successful career in customer service based industries culminating in becoming general manager of Eldon Square before taking up his current job at the MetroCentre.

“As a former apprentice myself, there’s no better way to learn a trade and gain some valuable skills than through an apprenticeship. It certainly helped me to get where I am today.

It’s also interesting is to see the sheer variety of apprenticeships now available to young people keen to get on in life.

“From business admin and bricklaying through to the more unusual like falconry and designing computer games and websites, there’s a whole new world of opportunity for open to ambitious and go ahead school leavers.”

School Students said: “Tim and Judith’s advice was very helpful because I had been thinking about what I was going to do when I leave school this summer.

“I definitely think that an apprenticeship might be a possibility as not only gain I gain some skills an employer wants but also continue to student for a useful qualification.”

NEAC, which has a regional brief to expand apprenticeship positions, aims to tackle the skills gap by creating more than 1,000 new apprentice jobs by 2012, particularly among small and medium enterprises (SMEs).

More than 150 companies have already signed up with the NEAC since it was launched and more than 400 potential apprentices have registered for placements.

Visit www.neapprenticeship.co.uk or email info@neapprenticeship.co.uk Tel: 0191 490 2453.