APPRENTICES in the county are gearing up to shout about the benefits of learning in the workplace as National Apprenticeship Week launches next week.

Events during the nationwide drive, which runs until Friday, include visits from MPs and an ambassador scheme which sends young apprentices into schools to talk about their experiences.

On Tuesday, local employers thinking about taking on an apprentice can find out more at Making Sense of Apprenticeships, which runs from 5.30pm to 7.30pm at Bicester’s Littlebury Hotel.

The North Oxfordshire Apprenticeship Fair at North Oxfordshire Academy in Banbury from 6.30pm to 8.30pm on Thursday is open to anyone interested in finding out more about apprenticeships on offer around the county.

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Apprentice carpenter Alex Siret, 16, from Eynsham, is one of an eight-strong crew helping to build homes in Bicester, as part of Cherwell District Council’s Build! project.

The youngster is employed by ABC Oxford, a firm set up by training provider ACE Training to give apprentices experience on real building sites. He said: “I found out about the apprenticeship at a careers evening at my school.

“I’m enjoying it, because it’s different to anything I have done before and I’m getting a good trade.”

Keith Smith, apprentice manager at ABC Oxford said: “Timekeeping, attitude and application has been faultless and the rest of the workers on site have remarked how the apprentices have added a new energy to the whole site.”

Electrical contractor Clarkson Evans, which wires new homes, launched a bus advertising campaign in Oxford this week in a bid to recruit more apprentices for its Kidlington branch.

And the week after National Apprenticeship Week, three pop-up ApprenticeSHOP stands in Cowley’s Templar Square on March 19, 20 and 21, manned by staff from Oxfordshire Apprenticeships, will offer information and advice.

Oxfordshire County Council’s education service manager Sarah Cullimore said: “National Apprenticeship Week is a great opportunity for us to recognise and celebrate local success and focus on future activities but really, every week is Apprenticeship Week for us here in Oxfordshire and we strive to be accessible and visible all year round to businesses and individuals in order to deliver the local apprenticeship growth needed.”

The week, is part of a national initiative coordinated by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills.

More information is available on Oxfordshire Apprenticeships Facebook page and Twitter feed @OxonApprentice, or at oxfordshireapprenticeships.co.uk or by calling the National Apprenticeship hotline on 08000 150600.