THE future of apprenticeships in the town is bright according to the new apprenticeships director at Warrington Collegiate.

Employment has been a hot topic in the build-up to this year's General Election but Vicky Boulton-Clarke says apprenticeships are going nowhere and they have plans to continue to grow the opportunities available.

The 43-year-old, who started her new role after Easter, said: "There's huge opportunities around creating local growth in the economy and I think politically getting young people into working job roles is really important.

"There are lots of different routes through education but apprenticeships are growing and rightly so as it gives youngsters their first opportunity to get a job and develop their skills from an early age.

"There's been a bit of myth-busting about the types of apprenticeships available as it's not just the traditional construction or engineering roles, over the last few years there's been a huge growth in the range available and progression through to higher education and higher level qualifications.

"Regardless of the General Election, all political parties have apprenticeships as part of their manifesto and there's a clear commitment to carrying that on with grants still available to small businesses."

The Collegiate is the largest apprenticeship provider in the area and one of the first to bring in social media apprenticeships giving small businesses the opportunity to grow their company online.

Latest figures from The National Apprenticeship Service have found 80 per cent of employers feel that apprenticeships have reduced their staff turnover with research also finding benefits include increased productivity and staff motivation.

Previous apprentices in the town have also gone on to win a variety of awards leading to the Collegiate now calling on more employers to get involved with their free recruitment service at Warrington Business School.

Vicky added: "Pupils have a huge organisation to support them through the transition into work and for businesses it can be a fairly cost effective way of growing the business in a short space of time.

"It also allows employers to give something back to young people and develop their talent and we're there if things are not going to plan."