IN the last twelve months there has been a large increase in the number of young people taking up an apprenticeship through Duchy College at Stoke Climsland, despite a national dip.

The rise follows a surge of businesses coming forward to offer young people an opportunity to get into work and a change to the legislation which means over 16s must stay in education, or take up a work-based scheme.

Apprenticeships typically consist of four days in the work place and one day at college, which then leads to a recognised qualification. Businesses can also apply for a grant of up to £1,500 to help cover the costs of taking on an apprentice.

Duchy College now has a dedicated customer recruitment team, which works closely with employers and candidates to help marry the two.

Sarah Hernandez, customer recruitment manager at Duchy College, said: 'Apprenticeships give young people the opportunity to work for a real employer, earn a salary and gain a real qualification, while gaining valuable work place skills and experience. There is a lot of positive work happening to actively push apprenticeships which in turn has given young people the confidence to get into work.

'Every week we add more vacancies to our list, they normally fill quite quickly, but some are a little trickier. The rural nature of what Duchy College offers in-turn means the businesses we work with are sometimes hard to find and may be out of towns or villages.'