Andrew Hebden is Assistant Editor (Business) of The Journal »
Matt James runs fingerprint-recognition technology firm UKB Security »
James Mills is a web developer in the North East of England and founder of Refresh Teesside »
Phil Renton is managing director of North East IT empire Croft »
Matthew Rippon is an IP lawyer for BHP Law »
Formerly editor of a national business lifestyle magazine, Jez Davison is a business writer for the Evening Gazette in Teesside »
Ian Brown, Northumberland farmer and businessman writes about the agricultural industry »
Accessibilty Champion Steve Wilkinson on the importance of inclusion »
Shared Interest Staff at Newcastle's fair trade firm blog on their latest international missions »
PR man David Honeywell on raising your profile in the right places »
Marion Bernard is from NorthStar Equity Investors »
Caroline Theobald is the Managing Director of Bridge Club Ltd »
John Barton of Renew, on the region's low carbon and sustainable energy agenda »
Paul Williamson is Senior Partner at Deloitte »
Stephen Hall is Tax Partner at Deloitte »The rising tide of young people out of work is a sobering reminder of the trail of destruction left by the recession.
Official figures show that the North-east has more NEETs - 16-24-year-olds not in education, employment or training - as a percentage of its young population than anywhere else in the UK.
The strain on the public purse has been immense, with NEETS driving the jobless count up to almost one in ten in the North-east.
Some of these youngsters would benefit from a stint in a local widget factory
And the private sector, still recovering from the hangover of recession, cannot afford to turn a blind eye.
Official figures show that a record 10,000 people in the North-east completed an apprenticeship in the 2008-2009 academic year - a 31% increase on the previous year.
But there are fears that the figure for 2009-2010 will be much lower as employers continue to pare back budgets.
Although a record 143,400 people in the UK completed apprenticeships in 2008-2009, the Government's aim of 35,000 new science-based apprenticeships by 2012 looks a tall order - especially with training organisations finding it increasingly difficult to get the private sector to commit.
No employer buy-in means no apprenticeships - and ministers know it.
Hartlepool MP Iain Wright, the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for 14-19 Reform and Apprenticeships, did some hearty flag-waving as part of the National Apprenticeship Week celebrations last week.
But it will take more than puff and PR to meet that 2012 target.
Although the new £2,500 employers' training grant is a step in the right direction, even training bodies have admitted that apprenticeships can be costly and places limited or difficult to find.
And data showing only one in five managers in the UK possess a professional qualification suggests the skills crisis has spread way beyond heavy engineering.
Apprenticeships have proved their worth down the years - witness the success of ICI on Teesside - but they will die if employers do not continue to back them.
Even in a tough trading climate, some investments are worth the cost.
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