Gary Jefferson, pictured second left with engineering students at Great Yarmouth College, started his career as an apprentice.

More leading companies today announced the creation of new apprenticeships, including
thousands at banks and car giant Nissan.

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Barclays said 1,000 new training posts would be offered in England and Wales, adding that it would recruit on aptitude and attitude rather than experience and qualifications focusing on young people who were not in employment, education or training.

Meanwhile, HSBC will create an extra 688 apprentices, bringing the total number of employees within its apprenticeship scheme to 1,000 by the end of 2012, and Santander will launch an apprenticeship scheme that will see up to 50 people offered places at the bank.

Sunderland-based Nissan announced 25 new apprenticeships on its trainee maintenance
technician scheme, taking the number of apprentices established at its North East plant to 1,073 in its
26-year history.

The move comes as a former apprentice has taken the helm as the the new director of construction and engineering students and staff at Great Yarmouth College.

Backing the drive for more employers to sign up apprentices in National Apprenticeship Week, Gary Jefferson who started his career as a 16-year-old apprentice at a Norfolk-based AEW Thurne Engineering.

“It was a great way to learn,” he said. “The foundation knowledge I got between 16 and 19 was fantastic and set me up for my working life.

“Apprenticeships are crucial. The benefits of an apprentice coming to college to gain technical knowledge and information to support learning at work are huge.

“It is important for companies to grow their own staff. Apprentices are an investment – especially in engineering where there is an ageing workforce and a skills gap.”

After starting his career with where he rose to be production engineer Mr Jefferson moved to Musset Engineering in Loddon as a production engineer.

Last week he began his new post, three years after he started
lecturing at Great Yarmouth College in 2009 and last week took over as director of construction and engineering. And he plans to be proactive in trying to bring more companies on board to the apprenticeship programme.

Responding to the jobs’ announcement, skills minister John Hayes said: “Creating a highly skilled workforce that can take on the best in the world means seeing apprenticeships as an access route to the professions.”