A youth employment initiative inspired by Sir Ian Wood has said it is targeting a 100% rise in the number of north-east businesses offering apprenticeships by 2018.
Developing the Young Workforce North East Scotland (DYW) said 2,300 apprentices started work across 780 businesses in the region during the year ended April 2015.
The business-led working group will attempt to double the number of firms offering apprenticeships in just a few years, and raise the intake to 3,500.
It follows the news that the Press and Journal’s Apprentice 100 campaign had reached its goal of creating a century of new traineeships in the same number of days.
DYW aims to get more young people into work by helping create partnerships between employers and all 46 secondary schools in Aberdeen city and shire and increasing work placement opportunities.
It was set up in the wake of Sir Ian’s Developing Scotland’s Young Workforce Commission, which published its final report last summer.
The report, titled “Education Working for All”, found that schools were not equipping young people with the right skills, but that many businesses were not engaging with education providers to help fix the problem.
The commission said apprenticeships were a great way preparing young people for full-time careers set the challenge of improving links between educators and business leaders.
DYW project director Amanda Boyle said too many businesses have got out of the habit of hiring young people and urged employers from all sectors to support the initiative.
Ms Boyle said: “We have a large percentage of employers across multiple sectors facing skills gaps, especially amongst firms who are experiencing rapid expansion and believe that taking on an apprentice would be too time consuming, opting to hire a more experienced but more costly employee instead.
“However, the return on investment for firms recruiting young people is extremely high. A study by the National Apprenticeship Service shows that 71% of apprentices remain with the same employer after completing their training, with 57% going on to hold management positions within the company.
“Therefore it is crucial that we develop a more strategic approach to workforce development and that starts with bridging the gaps between schools and industry.”