The number of apprentices qualifying in Yorkshire and the Humber has more than doubled in just four years, figures show today. A total of 15,380 people completed an apprenticeship in 2007/08, compared to just 6,530 in 2003/04, an increase of 135 per cent or 9,000 more apprentices.

The percentage completion rate in the region is the highest outside London and the South East. In Yorkshire & Humber, Barnsley and the East Riding showed the highest percentage increases in the number of apprentices qualifying, both over 200 per cent.
New analysis, issued as part of the national Apprenticeship Week, show how each part of the region has fared with the numbers qualifying between 2003/04 and 2007/08:

• Barnsley – 730 – up 218 per cent from 230
• Bradford – 1,090 up 142 per cent from 450
• Calderdale – 560 up 150 per cent from 220
• Doncaster – 1,100 up 178 per cent from 400
• East Riding – 2,010 up 215 per cent from 640
• Hull – 840 up 86 per cent from 450
• Kirklees – 1,150 up 166 per cent from 430
• Leeds – 1,430 up 166 per cent from 540
• NE Lincs – 400 up104 per cent from 190
• N Lincs – 440 up 94 per cent from 230
• North Yorkshire – 2,470 up 80 per cent from 1,370
• Rotherham – 690 up 103 per cent from 340
• Sheffield – 1,270 up 118 per cent from 580
• Wakefield – 830 up 167 per cent from 310
• York – 390 up 156 per cent from 150.

Source: Government Offices for Yorkshire and the Humber