More than 50 employers showed what they could offer to the next generation of managers and workers during the biggest apprenticeships event in Lancashire.

Preston Guild Hall was the venue for the free event with more than 2,000 youngsters seeing what was on offer.

Hundreds of apprenticeships vacancies were on offer including in healthcare, business, engineering and construction.

Learning and development specialist at Sika Limited Tamara Bloechliger said: “Today has been really exciting. We’ve got to meet a lot of people and young talent interested in Apprenticeships in all different sectors such as plumbing, engineering, business admin and customer service. We’ve talked to so many intelligent young people and hope to receive a lot of applications for our positions.”

Roles were on offer from national employers such as BT, Sainsbury’s and the NHS as well as large Preston and Lancashire employers such as BAE Systems, Leyland Trucks and Lancashire County Council.

Widening participation manager at the Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust Jacqueline Higham said: “The amount of people that have turned up has been great. We’ve seen some keen, enthusiastic potential apprentices and had so many register their interest for roles with us.

“We’ve targets set to recruit 250 apprentices a year and currently, around 90 per cent of our apprentices continue into long-term employment with us.”

Read more: BAE Systems to recruit more than 100 apprentices

An exhibitor for BT said: “We’ve talked to such a different mixture of people looking for Apprenticeships. We’re on the hunt for around 110 apprentices across the North West, including roles in consumer customer service, fleet technician, network engineering and ICT cyber security, which is a new side of the business.”

The event on Tuesday (14 March) was put on by Preston’s College, University of Central Lancashire, Lancashire Constabulary, Office of Police & Crime Commissioner (OPCC) and Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.

Lead organiser for the event Andrew Richardson said: “We couldn’t have asked for a better turnout. The benefits of an Apprenticeship are well documented and it was great to see so many people, especially soon-to-be school-leavers and their parents, showing an interest in Apprenticeships.

“Academic or vocational study routes which lead on to University isn’t the right choice for everyone. The Expo was there to highlight the growing market for Apprenticeships across Lancashire as well as the value in good training alongside employment.

“Each of the exhibitors have a solid reputation for apprentice training and career progression and we wish everyone the best of luck with their applications.”

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How can I find current apprenticeships vacancies?

Preston College has a dedicated list of apprenticeships vacancies on its website.