The Following article is from The Bolton News and can be seen here- Bolton News Article
A PIONEERING apprenticeship scheme is opening the door to highly skilled IT jobs for young people in the Leigh area.
Fourteen IP, a communications business which employs ore than 40 staff in offices in Leigh and Newton-le-Willows, is one of the first in the UK to offer the Hewlett-Packard Apprenticeship Scheme.
The first two candidates, Ben Wright and Stefan Leach, have already qualified and has been given a permanent job with the company while two more apprentices are currently undergoing training with plans to take on more early next year.
Neil Tolley, the Managing Director, said the IT industry was facing a skills shortage, with an additional 130,000 new entrants needed. He said: “The biggest challenge that we have as a company is recruiting the right people with right level of skills. The apprenticeship scheme is helping us to meet our requirements and giving young people a fantastic opportunity to gain a recognised qualification within the exciting, fast-paced IT sector.”
The North West Fund for Venture Capital is part of The North West Fund and is financed by the European Regional Development Fund and the European Investment Bank.