A TAVISTOCK college student has landed his dream job thanks to an initiative helping small businesses in the wood industry to expand by taking on trainees.

16-year-old Nathan McCarter was recently taken on as an apprentice by Matthew McCann, a contemporary furniture maker from Walkhampton, having studied graphic design and woodwork at school. His appointment was made possible by the Woodworks initiative, which uses money from the European Social Fund to provide up to 45 per cent of the minimum wage for an apprentice.

Nathan got his lucky break when his new employer spotted his ?job wanted? card on a notice board while attending a meeting of Tamar Valley Woodmeet.

He is over the moon with his job and has already helped make a pair of new oak gates for Meavy parish church. ?I?m really pleased because it?s what I?ve always wanted to do,? he said.

?It?s very hard to find work as a furniture maker in the area and I had been trying for ages. Most firms are looking for joiners so I?ve been very lucky.?

Nathan is on a three year modern apprenticeship, spending each Friday on a Construction Industry course at Plymouth College of Further Education.

The Woodworks initiative is managed by the Silvanus Trust, based at Stoke Climsland, and has been running for one year. In that time it has created seven trainee positions in the Tamar Valley timber industry by providing funding for wages as well as organising training programmes.

Matthew McCann said without scheme?s help it would have been difficult to take someone on.

?The part-funding of Nathan?s post and the training support he gets certainly make things a lot easier,? he said. ?It?s a good, worthwhile scheme because it is beneficial both to the employer and the trainee.?

Another business to have benefited from the initiative is Hallmark Timber sawmill at Kelly Bray. Owner Steve Vanstone has taken on two new staff and plans to create another post in the new year.

He said: ?It?s always a big step for a small company like ours to take on a new staff member so it?s not something we went into lightly. We?re pleased with the two lads we?ve got. I think the best thing about Woodworks is the training support they provide.?

Silvanus deputy director Sarah Young said the scheme has had a good first year and she is optimistic about the future.