Torin is happy to pass on his passion for training

Warwickshire County Council is passionate about apprenticeships.

There was a time, around the 1980s and '90s, when the concept of apprenticeships rather went out of fashion. University was viewed as the only constructive pathway from further education. The notion of apprenticeships, for so long the bedrock of preparing a new generation of skilled workers, was marginalised.

Mercifully, that time has passed.

The apprenticeship system - learning an occupation from within, often while also continuing to pursue academic qualifications - is once again recognised for what it is: a training and education method of unparalleled value.

That is why Warwickshire County Council's Apprenticeship Hub is such a busy place. Day-in, day-out, week-in, week-out, it works to bring together potential employers and apprentices to the benefit of everybody.

The man at the head of the Apprenticeship Hub is Torin Spence. And he is deeply passionate about apprenticeships.

As manager of the Hub, Torin's mission is to coordinate his team's efforts to put as many young people as possible on to the perfect springboard into the world of work which an apprenticeship represents.

It is a challenge that he thoroughly enjoys.

"I love my job," said Torin. "I love working with businesses to make sure they get the talented young people they need and I love seeing those young people blossom. It is a great feeling when you see both parties benefiting from a perfect fit.

"Apprenticeships are now regarded as a very credible option again which is good to see because there was a time when university was viewed by some as the only recommended passage from college. Earning a living and studying were seen as mutually exclusive - but they certainly are not anymore."

Torin's work at the hub is underpinned by a true sense of vocation - his own career has been driven by a desire to do whatever he can to launch the careers of others. And that commitment to see young people properly and respectfully trained was borne from his own experience, as a young man, of the opposite situation.

"I started off working in the Sergeant's Mess at the Army’s Blandford Camp," he said. "That was a good learning curve and launched me on a career in hotel and catering.

"It was when I was working at the Holiday Inn Crowne Plaza in Birmingham that I saw how things shouldn't be done. I didn't like the way staff there were trained. So I became involved in training."

The successful career which subsequently unfolded has included time at Central London TEC and heading up the training programme of Hilton Hotels before Torin joined the Learning and Skills Council. That move brought him to the Coventry and Warwickshire sub-region in 2006 and when Warwickshire County Council started their Apprenticeship Hub in April 2013, he was clearly the perfect man to lead it.

He said: "Essentially there are three prongs to the Hub. We give free and impartial advice to businesses, work with schools and have an internal programme of apprentices within the council.

"We lead by example because we have recruited more than 60 apprentices throughout the council over the last few years n areas as diverse as accountancy to forestry. They contribute an enormous amount, not just for the duration of their apprenticeship but, in most cases, far beyond. Some of the council's senior management began by taking the apprenticeship route."

The Apprenticeship Hub offers a free and impartial advice service to small and medium-sized businesses whereby experts advise on all aspects of recruiting apprentices- where appropriate and suitable. It is important to know when it is not the right option.

Apprenticeships last between one and four years with all apprentices will having the security of a contract of employment for the time relevant time.Any business employing up to 50 people could be eligible for grants of up to £1,500.

There are three levels of apprenticeship available:

Intermediate Level Apprenticeships for a level 2 qualification (equivalent to five GCSE’s grade A*-C)
Advanced Level Apprenticeships for a level 3 qualification (equivalent to an A Level education)
Higher Level Apprenticeships for levels 4, 5, 6 & 7 qualifications (equivalent to a degree education)
* More information about Warwickshire Apprenticeship Hub can be found at www.warwickshire.gov.uk/getanapprentice