WITH new figures revealing that a total of 2,200 new apprenticeships have been created in the Cotswolds since 2010, one young man told the Standard how the opportunity changed his life.

Jordan McKenna, 21, started an apprenticeship at Cirencester Housing Society in 2012 and impressed his employers so much that they offered him a position as a housing officer.

Now the youngest member of the company, Jordan supports people living in the Society's properties as well as finding suitable homes for those who have applied for accommodation. He said he is pleased he chose to go down the apprentice route instead of applying to university like many of his friends.

“I just fell in love with housing management,” he said. “I was the first apprentice Cirencester Housing took on and I just did everything when I started.

“Then I found I really enjoyed the housing side of things and they asked if I would like to keep my job after I had finished the apprenticeship.”

Jordan went to school at Deer Park before moving on to Cirencester College to study for his A-Levels.

He spent an extra year at the college, re-sitting a few of his exams, but when he was ready to go to university he decided it was not for him.

“After the fees went up and I had to spend another year at college, it got me thinking about what I really wanted to do,” he said. “I didn’t want to spend all the money and then still be looking for a job afterwards.”

Jordan is now studying with the Chartered Institute of Housing to further his career.

Gloucestershire County Council has set up a taskforce to help more young people like Jordan find a career that suits them.

Cllr Paul Hodgkinson is part of that taskforce, which is investigating ways of creating more apprenticeships and encouraging more young people to take that route. He said a big challenges is changing the view that many people have of schemes.

"A lot of people think that apprentices are second class to university graduates, but that's not the case," he said. "Many employers prefer to take on an apprentice over a graduate because they can mould them."

Cllr Hodgkinson said another issue is persuading smaller businesses to take on apprentices, as many believe there is too much red tape.