Partner Article

Apprenticeships in the North East: Why July Is the Time to Act

Every summer, thousands of young people across the North East reach the same crossroads. GCSE and A Level results are just weeks away, and with them comes a big question: what next? For a growing number, the answer isn’t sixth form or university. It’s an apprenticeship, and July is exactly when that decision starts to take shape.

At We Are Zenith, we work with employers and candidates across the region every day to make sure that decision leads somewhere good. And nobody sees that process more closely than Ian Wilkinson, our Apprenticeship Recruitment Coordinator.

Meet Ian
“I’m Ian, the Apprenticeship Recruitment Coordinator. I’m responsible for managing the recruitment process for apprenticeships, and I work closely with employers to make sure the right candidates are selected for apprenticeship roles.”

Ian’s role sits right at the heart of what we do. On any given week, he’s advertising apprenticeship opportunities, reviewing applications, conducting interviews, and helping employers land on the right candidate for their business. But there’s another side to the job that matters just as much.

“A big part of what I do is providing guidance and support to potential apprentices throughout the application process. Answering their questions, offering advice, and helping them understand what an apprenticeship route could actually look like for them.”

That support often starts long before an application ever lands. Ian is a regular face at apprenticeship fairs, and spends time in schools, colleges, and community organisations across the North East, promoting apprenticeships as a genuine, respected path into a career, not a fallback option.

Why July matters
Results day gets all the attention, but the groundwork happens now. July is when employers start planning their September and October intakes. It’s when careers advisors are having final conversations with students. And it’s when parents and young people start seriously weighing up their options rather than just thinking about them.

Apprenticeships give people the chance to earn while they learn, gaining a real qualification alongside real workplace experience and a wage from day one. For a lot of young people in our region, that combination is proving far more attractive than three years of study followed by a job search.

How we support employers across the North East
Recruiting an apprentice isn’t the same as recruiting an experienced hire, and we don’t treat it that way. Our approach covers the full journey, from writing job adverts that actually reach the right audience, through to shortlisting, interviewing, and matching candidates to the right role and the right employer culture.

We work across a varied range of sectors, and we understand that every business has different needs. Some employers know exactly the skills they’re after. Others are taking on an apprentice for the first time and need a steer on what good looks like. Either way, our job is to take the pressure off, handling the recruitment process so employers can focus on what they do best, while we focus on finding people who’ll genuinely stick around and grow with the business.

That’s the Recruit, Develop, Retain approach we build everything around. Getting the right person in isn’t the finish line. It’s the start of a relationship we stay involved in.

Get in touch
If you’re an employer in the North East thinking about taking on an apprentice, or wondering whether now’s the right time, this is it. And if you know a young person who’s weighing up their options and might thrive earning while they learn, point them our way.

Ian and the team are ready to talk apprenticeships, whatever stage you’re at.

Get in touch with We Are Zenith today to find out more about apprenticeship opportunities across the North East.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by We Are Zenith .