A SOFTWARE company have taken a new approach to recruitment by appointing their first-ever apprentices.

Bond Solutions, which specialises in customer relationship management software, have added apprentices Faye Maw and Hannah Potter to their team of six.

Managing director Derek Curtis said: "We normally employ graduates but decided to take a different approach this year to see how we, as a business, could grow.

"We wanted to find people at that early stage of learning so that we could coach and develop them within our team. Both Faye and Hannah have brought so much enthusiasm to their roles and their willingness to learn is fantastic and of course fundamental to succeeding."

Faye, 18, from Sunderland, has joined Bond Solutions as an Accounts Apprentice, she said: "I completed my A-levels in law, business, English literature and language before joining the company.

"Working here has been a big learning curve for me. It is real hands on learning experience compared to the classroom environment and I have discovered and experienced so much in a short space of time."

Hannah, 19, from South Shields joined the company as an IT apprentice.

"At college I studied art and design, law, government, English literature and language and like Faye I decided to do an apprenticeship because I found it to be more beneficial to me than being in a classroom environment," she said.

"This way I gain more qualifications and earn a wage at the same time."