A FORMER apprentice at Barrow's gas terminal has spoken of the benefits of taking this route into employment.

Ed Harrison, 21 is now a fully-qualified engineer after completing the scheme, run by Centrica, the plc, owner of British Gas.

He is now working towards an electrical engineering degree and progressing in his career at the terminal.

His comments come after his employer found that more than 60 per cent of people in Cumbria do not see an apprenticeship as a good starting point for their career.

Mr Harrison, who is from Walney, said: "Completing the apprenticeship has opened up a lot of options for me in terms of next steps in my career. It helped me decide on where I wanted my career path to take me, which is working in more engineering roles.

"During my apprenticeship I had the chance to work on the terminals and get first-hand experience of how the equipment works, which has been a huge benefit for me since earning my qualifications.”

He added: “At school, the focus was always on going to university straight away.

“I wanted to get a higher education, but at the same time get experience in a work environment, so an apprenticeship was the perfect next step for me.”

Centrica's study found that 63 per cent of Cumbrians said they don’t view apprenticeships as the best starting point to reaching a senior position in their career. More than two fifths - 43 per cent - believe university is the best start they can get.

Craige Heaney, head of learning and development at Centrica, said: “It’s worrying that future leaders in Cumbria are limiting their options and not considering an apprenticeship as a route into an exciting and high-flying career. We have several examples of people who started their career as a British Gas apprentice and now hold a leadership position.

“Over the past 10 years, we’ve invested more than £260m in training 6,000 engineers and apprentices, because we recognise the positive impact this has on both our customers and business performance.

“By choosing to pursue a high quality apprenticeship that is developed by leading employers for apprentices of all ages, which also offer flexibility and transferable skills, the opportunities for people in Cumbria to reach to the top are limitless.”

More than 1,200 apprentices are training at the British Gas Learning Hubs operated by Centrica around the UK. When surveyed, more than 95 per cent said their apprenticeship sets them up for a successful future. In a survey that Centrica carried out among its own apprentices, nine in 10 said they felt better equipped for the world of work than their friends who went to college or university.