THE envelopes have been torn open and A-Level students throughout the North-East have received their results.

Now, it’s decision time.

Many will be packing their bags and heading to university ready for three years of lectures, student loans and part-time jobs, but some will be embarking on a slightly different route.

It may seem obvious from my day job that I’m a firm advocate of apprenticeships but as a former apprentice myself, I assure you my advocacy is genuine.

Apprenticeships provide a way for people to launch a career of their choice, earn a wage and amass valuable working experience.

You only need to look around the North-East’s leading business figures to find people who started their careers as apprentices.

There is something incredibly satisfying about the boardrooms of the North-East being filled with senior management who started life on the bottom rung of the ladder.

It is with pride that these leaders will say, “I started out as an apprentice”, and while I wouldn’t profess to be among this elite, I’m proud to have at least some association.

From welding to working with young people to secure jobs in anything from dental to accountancy, I can safely say the idea a person originally has for their future career can swiftly change.

There has been a seismic change in the amount of people choosing to earn a wage while getting industry-recognised qualifications.

Following a dip in the late 1980s and 1990s, apprenticeships are popular again, bringing back valuable opportunities for young people to earn while they learn.

Accountancy, dental care, CAD design, administration, construction.

You name it and the chances are there’s a North East Chamber of Commerce apprentice doing it.

Young people have a big decision to make, and if they need any advice we’re here to help.

We’ve all been there before – the newbie, walking in as a young apprentice, feeling awkward and exposed.

It is important young people in the North-East know what opportunities are there for them and that taking that first step on the ladder is always the hardest.

The more businesses which engage with this agenda, the more we will upskill our workforce, which will mean more productivity, more jobs and, in a decade or so, more former apprentices in our boardrooms and directors’ suites.

It is vital we make the most of the talent we’ve got in our region and bolster our growing reputation as one of the UK’s premier hubs for technology and enterprise.