Employment and skills experts Working Links is to offer training for people who would like to undertake an apprenticeship but are not skilled or qualified to do so yet.

Last month, Working Links unveiled its new pilot scheme designed to help 300 people across the Midlands gain apprenticeships. And now the organisation, which works in more than 20 locations across the region, is launching its pre-apprenticeship training in Birmingham.

This new four-week programme is the only one of its kind in the Midlands and starts with an open day on Monday 10 January at Working Links' New Street office.

The programme, which equates to 40% of an apprenticeship and includes an NVQ Level 2 qualification, covers training in customer services, hospitality and warehousing and is open to 18-24-year-olds in receipt of Job Seeker's Allowance. On completion, candidates will be able to move onto a full apprenticeship programme.

In addition, Working Links has committed to offering 50 internal apprenticeships in 2011 covering customer service and business administration.

Working Links delivers more than 100 government programmes across Great Britain to help people change their lives and is working with the region's employers to offer the apprenticeships in hospitality, customer service and warehousing. It is anticipated that by April 2011, Working Links will expand the offering to up to six sectors before rolling the programme out nationally with a further four sectors next summer. 

The scheme will offer three strands for people to get involved in; Pre Apprenticeships; Apprenticeships for 16-18-year-olds and Apprenticeships for those aged 19 or over.

Mike Lee, Working Links' Midlands Director, said: "We have a strong track record of helping people change their lives for the better. Over the last ten years, we've helped more than 150,000 people back to work, including 44,000 young people aged 16-25.

"We believe apprenticeships are great pathways to sustainable employment and are of major benefit to employers."

Working Links has been established in the area since 2000, initially working with those who had been unemployed for 12 months or longer to try and enable them to find work. But more recently, the employment experts have been helping those aged 16 - 24 bridge the gap between unemployment and work through a range of programmes tying into the government's 'Backing Young Britain' campaign.

Mike added: "Currently, at least one in ten 16 to 18-year-olds are not in education, employment or training (NEET). The government recognises the seriousness of this issue, and has already ploughed lots of funding into schemes aimed at young people. 

"We know that the enduring implications for the long-term unemployed are very severe. But for young people in particular joblessness is especially damaging. Many teenagers are looking forward to what they can achieve with their lives. We believe we can make a difference to the lives of these children, young people and their families."

To find out more about the initiative, call Working Links on 0800 917 9262.

For more information about Working Links, please visit their website here: www.workinglinks.co.uk