HARRY Tims is in the fast lane with a career at car dealer Ridgeway’s Jaguar showroom in Cumnor Hill.

The 19-year-old welcomed the hike in minimum wages for apprentices announced by the Government this week.

The increase, which comes into force in October, guarantees at least £3.30 an hour, up from the present rate of £2.73.

Mr Tims, in his third year of a technician apprenticeship, said: “It is quite tough when you are starting your first year, especially when you have to buy your tools, as they are expensive.”

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The former St Birinus pupil, who lives at his parents’ home in Didcot to cut down costs, said he sees it as an investment in the future.

He added: “After I left school, I worked as a labourer for a bit but after a while I wanted a bit more out of life, so I applied for this apprenticeship.”

New figures for Oxfordshire released yesterday showed the number of people on the dole bounced back up slightly to above the 3,000 mark. The total number of Jobseeker’s Allowance claimants in February was 3,031, with a third of those in Oxford, up from 2,941 the previous month.

But the overall trend is sharply downwards, as this time last year there were 4,627 people signing on across the county.

Oxfordshire Jobcentre Plus employment adviser James Gilpin said the slight rise was a result of seasonal jobs coming to an end.

He said: “Year-on-year the figures show a strong downward trend and it is more accurate to concentrate on that, rather than monthto- month.”

Mr Gilpin said most vacancies were in construction, the care sector, warehouse and logistics, retail, science and technology.

He added: “There is a buoyant construction sector here in Oxfordshire, so a large number of apprenticeships and trainee positions are available out there at the moment.

“And it would be difficult to find anywhere else in the country that doesn’t have the same massive shortage of people in the care sector that we have here.”

Master technician Robbie Harrington, 26, from Faringdon, who also works at Ridgeway’s Jaguar dealership, started as an apprentice.

He said: “It was a bit difficult at times because you don’t earn a great deal of money when you start and most 18- to 19-year-olds try to live beyond their means, but it’s gradually gone up over the years and it’s very good now.”