AS all eyes turn to Lord Sugar and his new cohort of wannabe apprentices, council bosses in Swindon are calling on businesses to follow his lead and tell school leavers 'You're hired.'

Following the Government's pledge to create 3m apprenticeships by 2020, the local authority has embarked on a high-reaching campaign to get firms on side, bolster the number of schemes available and offer existing apprentices more opportunities to grow.

Around 1,600 people enrol in an apprenticeship each year in Swindon. However they are spread across just 900 trailblazing firms. The council's goal is now to draft another 280 businesses to take on apprentices by the end of the year and help meet the town's growing demand for a home-grown highly-skilled workforce.

"Swindon has performed very well in terms of productivity but our businesses sometimes struggle to find highly-skilled people in the town," explains Lyn Gardner, commissioning manager for Swindon Council's Route to Employment Team. "So you get a lot of people coming into Swindon to work but living elsewhere. We need to get people trained up in Swindon to meet businesses' needs. In order to do that, we need more businesses to get involved with apprenticeships.

"Over the next 12 months we aim to increase the number of businesses in Swindon with an apprentice by 280. Our longer term goal is for 20 per cent of Swindon's businesses to employ apprentices. Currently only 15 per cent of businesses nationally and locally employ apprentices."

While many companies still only offer GCSE-level qualifications, a growing number is now proposing A-Level or higher equivalences.

"In 2013-2014, 32 per cent of the apprentices were advanced, at Level 3, and an interim figure indicates that we will achieve 38 per cent working to achieve at advanced level in 2014-2015," adds Lyn. "This is very exciting for employers who are looking for higher skilled workers."

Just a few years ago, apprenticeships were widely regarded as a route into manual work and certainly not a viable or desirable path for star pupils.

But increasingly and thanks to new incentives made available to businesses welcoming apprentices, many students are now spurning college or a university education in favour of a hands-on apprenticeship and valuable workplace experience in an array of sectors including accountancy, finance and engineering.

"An apprenticeship, I think it's fair to say was traditionally seen as the route into a skilled trade, rather than one of the professions," says Victoria McDonald, who started her career at Swindon-based accountancy firm Morris Owen as an apprentice 15 years ago.

"However, increasingly with high tuition fees and a crowded jobs market, school leavers are looking for alternatives to university."

Morris Owen currently has four apprentices on its two-year Association of Accounting Technicians (AAT) programme. A further two are studying to achieve the next level up, an Association of Consulting Actuaries qualification.

The recruits are predominantly based in the Audit & Accounts department, but are also called upon to work in the tax department, payroll or help with admin.

As a former apprentice, Victoria knows how demanding entering the world of employment at a young age can be. But the benefits of a well-rounded training and attractive job prospects were a chance she could not pass up.

"The offer of becoming a qualified accountant a year earlier than if I had gone to university, having my training paid for, and being paid a salary seemed a no-brainer," she says. "It gave me a great foundation and practical experience, as well as giving me the entry qualifications to go on and become a fully qualified chartered accountant."

Morris Owen apprentice Isaac Carter, 19, has just completed his first year with the firm. He is currently working to achieve an AAT, the equivalent of a foundation level degree. He is then planning to study for an ACA.

Initially torn between a degree at Swansea University and an apprenticeship, the prospect of completing his training at least one year ahead of his university peers tipped the balance.

"University was on my mind and I wanted to keep my options open but I slowly began to realise that doing an apprenticeship had a lot of advantages," says the former New College student from Old Town. "With an apprenticeship I'd be finishing one or two years before university. Here I'm getting paid and with university there is a ton of debt you will pick up in the future.

"It's also about getting experience. These days it's key to have that experience on your CV. I speak to clients about their accounts and I've learnt everything you do regarding accounts preparation. At uni it would all be theorised. I'm already in the job and hopefully my future is set for me.”

The endless possibilities of moulding young recruits to the building society's specific requirements were not lost on Nationwide. The firm launched its apprenticeship scheme in 2013 and has so far trained 120 people. In September, head of emerging talent Victoria Humphries welcomed 51 new apprentices on top of the contingent of 88 university graduates.

Under the scheme every apprentice is hired for a specific role and walks into a job from day one. They are paid £7.85 per hour, far above the Living Wage "We love organic growth and growing our own," she explains. "We invest in apprentices from the minute they come here and we've offered them permanent roles from the word go. They all have a meaningful role.”

Nationwide offers apprentices a variety of placements in every department from HR and IT to finance and digital at various levels: Intermediary or GCSE equivalent, Advanced or A-Level equivalent and Higher which corresponds to foundation or honours degree.

While being debt-free was an attractive prospect for fledgling apprentice Jack Twine, 18, it is the promise of a career and progression through the ranks of an established firm which eventually swayed him toward an apprenticeship.

"I did my A-Levels and I applied to university as a back-up option but I thought the hands-on experience of working for a company would be better than getting a degree," says the former Royal Wootton Bassett Academy student. "A group of Nationwide apprentices came to our school and after speaking to them about the benefits, how they could help you build a career, I applied."

"I'm doing location and planning; it looks at refurbishing and opening branches," adds Jack, who is currently working towards an NVQ Level 3 underwritten by Cirencester College. "I liked the retail side of it.

"Some of the graduates here are 23 or 24 when they come in. By then I will have worked for six years. I want to go into management somewhere down the line and hopefully lead a team. But I’m not sure in what department."

Currently Government funds apprenticeships in full for 16 year olds, according to Victoria. As recruits get older, funding goes down a sliding scale. But regardless of age, Nationwide is committed to funding bright candidates, she adds.

While some apprentices like Jack have a clear career path in mind, many teenagers enrolling in apprenticeships are still undecided. As such, Nationwide is looking to scrap its competence-based phone interview stage and instead focus on candidates’ drive and willingness to learn.

"It's about doing the right thing and offering people opportunities locally to learn and succeed and the right qualifications.

"As a company we value enthusiastic people with a can-do attitude who want to start a career with us. If you invest in people they are more likely to stay with you.”

To find out more about apprenticeships go to www.gov.uk/topic/further-education-skills/apprenticeships or ww1.swindon.gov.uk/jo/Pages/jo-apprenticeships.aspx