APPRENTICESHIPS are being seen as vital to a whole host of industries, in Somerset and beyond.

This week, a new report claimed engineering is at a “tipping point” amid warnings of a huge shortfall of graduates in the industry.

Employment in engineering firms accounts for almost a fifth of jobs following a 2.3 per cent increase in recent years, said EngineeringUK.

The group, which promotes the sector, said moves to boost the number of young people entering the industry had started to pay off, with a big rise in apprenticeships at the forefront of improvements.

Chief executive Paul Jackson said: “Engineering is a growth industry that has the potential to continue to drive the UK economy, but the industry is at a tipping point.

“We must consolidate the successes of the past and be alert to the challenges of the future.”

The Somerset Skills and Apprenticeships Show, to be held from 11am to 7pm at Taunton Rugby Club on March 22, aims to showcase the opportunities available across a host of industries in the region.

Supporting the show alongside sw1jobs.com is the Somerset Chamber of Commerce.

In his column on our Business page this week, chief executive of the chamber, Dale Edwards, said apprenticeships were playing a vital role in the organisation’s future.

He wrote: “In conjunction with an ageing population, the working age population is projected to fall by two per cent in Somerset over the next 25 years.

“In addition, more than 2,000 18-to-20-year-olds move out of the county every year, often to the bright city university lights elsewhere in the region or beyond.

“All of this contributes to below average skill levels in our working population and lower than average salary levels.

“This trend must be reversed if we are to create a dynamic and increasingly productive Somerset.

“We need to recruit and retain our future working talent, with skills at all levels and relevant to all sectors.

“I believe in developing our own talent, with the Chamber having recruited two apprentices in the last three years and my pledge being to recruit another two within the next three years.

“This is vital for the long term future prosperity and productivity of the Chamber.”

Industries set to be represented at the March 22 show include health care, engineering, hospitality and catering, education and more, with a range of practical advice and demonstrations on offer.

Somerset County Gazette: