More than one quarter of 19-24 year-olds who cannot recall any contact with employers while at school are now not in education, employment or training (NEET), according to new research by the charity.

Meanwhile less than five per cent of those surveyed who had taken part in four or more activities involving employers (such as career insights, mentoring, work tasters, work experience) are NEET.

The survey, ‘It’s who you  meet: Why employer contacts at school make a difference to the employment prospects of young adults’, shows that only seven per cent of young adults can recall four or more activities of employer engagement having taken place while at school.

While 98 per cent of 333 teenage pupils surveyed by Deloitte in 2010 wanted to have more involvement with employers, only 42 per cent had spoken to someone from the workplace about jobs and careers.

The greatest impacts can be expected on those young people whose families have weakest access to relevant sources of career insights, such as the two million children who live in workless households.

According to the Education and Employers Taskforce, countries with the greatest success in dealing with youth unemployment typically include extensive workplace exposure within their educational programmes.

It also argues young people are especially attentive and trusting of first-hand information about jobs and career pathways received from employers.

Theo, star of TV’s Dragons’ Den and chairman of Ryman Stationery, says: ‘The great thing about apprenticeships is that people can earn while they learn. The feedback from our apprentices is overwhelmingly positive, as the experience builds confidence and increases their overall understanding of business.’

Around 100 Ryman staff, from sales assistants to store managers, have been put through vocational training programmes in a partnership between Ryman and Hawk Training, a work-based training provider in Twickenham, Middlesex.

Ryman’s six latest apprentices are being assessed and selected at The London Academy of Apprenticeships, a new £1 million apprenticeship-training facility, launched by Government-funded Hawk Training at the end of last year.

The London Academy of Apprenticeships will stage a number of events to highlight National Apprenticeship Week 2012.

Events include:

• High in the sky above Central London in a private pod on The London Eye, 20 employers who are interested in finding out more about apprenticeships and how apprentices can benefit their business, will meet real-life apprentices and bosses from The London Academy of Apprenticeships (Monday 6th Feb).
• A ’real-life Apprentice’ event – where 10 young people will compete to win an apprenticeship at the UK headquarters of a global company (Tuesday 7th Feb).
• A ’You’re Hired’ celebration event, to be attended by more than 100 young people from across London, who have been placed into apprenticeships by the Academy in 2011 (Friday 10th Feb).
• A former Surrey School pupil, who now works for Sajid Javid MP as an Apprentice Administration Officer, will take Year 10 & 11 pupils from his former school on a tour of the Houses of Parliament (Monday 6th February).
• 20 Apprentices representing a variety of government departments will talk about their apprenticeships to an audience of Permanent Secretaries at an event at Whitehall (this event takes place the week before, Wednesday 1st Feb).

>> Click here to visit FMWF’s Debt Advice section

If you read my first Diary of a Young Debtor entry, you may be wondering how on earth I am going to pay my rent which is due out this week… because I know I was.

Well, I found a solution. Admittedly, not an ideal one: I have opened up a new credit card. My rent HAS to be paid and I HAVE to be able to get to work. I don’t know what else I could have done.

When I wrote that post my HSBC credit card was almost entirely at its limit (balance: minus £3,646, credit available: £104) and I was also paying loads of interest (about £50 per month).

So I have transferred my credit card debt to a new Barclaycard Platinum credit card which is O% interest (I found the offer via this article). I don’t know why I didn’t transfer it elsewhere before. It is just stupid and lazy that I didn’t, because I’m now £50 per month better off without even changing my lifestyle.

If I miss a payment I will lose the O% interest offer, which lasts 24 months, so I have to keep a close eye on it, but it seems to have worked out so far.

…It also means my HSBC credit card has been freed-up for me to continue recklessly using it to pay my rent (erm, yes – I did say it wasn’t an ideal solution). I’m committed to getting in credit now, though, and as soon as I can pay it off I will.

This month I have already saved money by smoking less (one packet of 20 and one packet of 10 cigarettes this entire month, compared to about one packet of 20 every two days last month), scavenging from my parents’ fridge and cupboards (this is fine by them as long as I don’t take the… biscuit) and cancelling my £30 per month Virgin Media broadband (and using my parents’ connection at home instead for now).

I’m feeling like a bit of a paragon of virtue. One packet of cigarettes in a month! This seems semi-miraculous! I don’t want to get too smug though, because I have a long way to go. It is much easier to cut back on spending when everyone is on a post-Christmas/New-Year-health-drive and the pubs are quiet (ahem, and when you are living with your parents and scrounging internet and food off them).

I am genuinely in this getting-out-of-debt-mission for the long-haul though, and I now have two lots of credit card payments instead of one, so I can’t start celebrating yet.

 >> Follow me on Twitter: @diaryofadebtor

The firm’s £9 million apprenticeship academy is on track to provide 2,000 places for young people by 2014, it was announced today.

Peter Marks, chief executive of The Co-operative Group, said: “Youth unemployment is spiralling with over one million 16- to 25-year-olds out of work. Coupled with the unpredictable economic future, it’s no surprise that some young people feel unsupported and demotivated.

“We believe businesses have a real responsibility to open doors for young people by giving them opportunities to gain new skills, knowledge and experience so that together we can build a strong and successful future for young people and our country.

“Through our apprenticeship academy, we are offering young people across the UK proper jobs with qualifications and real career opportunities.

“With a quarter of our employees under the age of 25, eventually we want to make them all apprentices and I would encourage other big businesses to follow suit.

“The professionalism and enthusiasm shown by all of the apprentices we have recruited so far shows just how much young people have to offer.

“There are so many young people looking for opportunities such as this and we have been overwhelmed by the hard work and commitment our new apprentices have already shown in their roles.”

The announcement comes ahead of National Apprenticeship Week from next Monday.

>> Click here to visit FMWF’s Debt Advice section

I have decided to try and get out of my tenancy agreement for the flat I have lived in for the past year or so.

It swallows up more than half of my salary and – while it is not unusually expensive for a flat in London, it is about average – if I can find somewhere even marginally cheaper it would really help.

My previous flat was a little one bedroom place that I shared with an ex-boyfriend, so once split between us cost half as much as this, a two bedroom flat with a separate kitchen and living room, which I share with a friend.

Rent, especially in London, is astronomical. It doesn’t surprise me at all to read articles like this one this week saying owning a home has become more than £100 a month cheaper than renting. Paying rent really does feel like throwing money down the toilet. And, as anyone who has read my previous Diary of a Young Debtor entry knows, I definitely cannot afford a house!

But sharing properties with more rooms (e.g. four or five bedroom houses) works out much cheaper and I think I made a mistake to ignore that fact and move into a two-bedroom flat with a friend just over a year ago.

Anyway – back to my current situation. I’m still paying rent as the agreement is not up for a few months and I am liable to keep paying if a new tenant doesn’t replace me. But if new tenants are found then I can pay a fee to get out of the contract and find somewhere cheaper to live. Fingers crossed…

In the mean time I have moved back in with my parents(!)… Is this really progress!?

Well, yes, I think it is (for now!). I’m sure my parents don’t entirely think so (I’m in my mid-twenties!), and I know I am really lucky that I have this option while I am between homes.

It seems to be a growing trend among people my age. I have friends that have moved back with their parents not just when between homes, but for months at a time to save money (for example for a deposit for a house or equipment for their career).

I thought moving out of my flat and in with my parents would feel like a step in the wrong direction, but actually I just feel relieved that I am taking action and getting things in order.

As I packed up my things I didn’t feel sad, even though I have had great times in that flat, but excited about my life which I am taking control of.

 >> Follow me on Twitter: @diaryofadebtor

>> Here are some tweets I have received about this diary entry. Thanks again for your feedback…

@debt_s_trust:  hard decision you’ve taken but for the right reasons, it’s all about the income and expenditure. Well done and good luck!

@debt_s_trust: fantastic news piece. Your story encourages others to take action and control of their debt problem.

@debtology: One of the key tasks in managing your finances better: maximising your income & assessing your expenditure.

@dketfp: Your blog is interesting and at least you’re making an effort to get out of debt….most people my age are still in denial!

@dketfp: rent in London must be crippling but I would think its the spending on London lifestyle/fashion that does the damage.

@dketfp: whenever I come down to London & I’m on the tube its like my clothes are 5 years out of date!

@meandmyshapes: at least your fridge will be full now!

@garethcare: a sensible short-term move, definitely. Puts you in more control of finances. How will you use the money you save?

The National Audit Office (NAO) said adult apprenticeships offered a good return of around £18 for every £1 of public spending.

The spending watchdog said apprenticeships had expanded by 140% over a four-year period from 2006/7, with over 25-year-olds accounting for two thirds of the increase.

The biggest growth was in health and social care, customer services, retail, management and business administration, with just 2% each in engineering and computing.

Nine out of 10 apprentices were satisfied with their training, but a fifth of apprenticeships only lasted six months in 2010/11 and only a third were at an advanced level, compared with 60% in France.

The programme was well co-ordinated and better managed than the previous Train to Gain scheme, said the NAO, but it added that the Business Department could significantly improve value for money by targeting resources on areas where the greatest economic returns can be achieved.

Amyas Morse, head of the NAO said: “The apprenticeships programme has been providing a good return for public spending. Nevertheless, the Department should set its sights higher in order to get better value from the 0.5 billion pounds and rising now spent on adult apprenticeships each year.

“It needs to target resources more effectively, confirm the training provided is in addition to what would have been provided without public support and make sure that the funding system is informed by robust information on the cost of delivery.”

Margaret Hodge, who chairs the Public Accounts Committee, commented: “The apprenticeship programme has grown rapidly since 2006 and is benefiting both employers and apprentices, but there needs to be much greater focus on getting value for money from the 0.5 billion pounds spent each year.

“There are troubling signs that the apprenticeship market is not working as intended. Many employers are not paying their share towards training costs, the payments made to providers do not always reflect the costs of delivering training, and apprenticeships are concentrated in a small number of areas.”

Skills Minister John Hayes said: “Unprecedented investment, backed by tough new measures to ensure that quality matches quantity, has helped make apprenticeships the gold standard vocational qualification.

“So I am delighted that the NAO has recognised the progress we have made and that they identify the extraordinary economic benefits of apprenticeships. Few, if any, other Government programmes produce anything like the return of £18 for every £1 spent, let alone the still greater return that our economists estimate.”

A separate report by vocational organisation City & Guilds showed that businesses would receive a £4.3 billion boost if a million extra apprenticeship places were created by 2013.

A study ahead of Apprenticeship Week, which starts on Monday, showed that the economy would also benefit from increased tax and national insurance contributions.

Chief executive Chris Jones said: “Our report findings clearly show that it is vital that we meet the Government’s ambition of achieving an additional one million apprenticeship starts by 2013.

“Apprenticeships work for both businesses and individuals – providing companies with a skilled workforce to help them grow and giving people of all ages hands-on experience, guidance and qualifications, to help them develop real skills in their chosen career.

“Not only will these apprenticeships inject a much-needed financial boost into our struggling economy, but they will also help tackle the current unemployment levels and ensure that businesses have the skills they need for their future growth.”

[Press Association] New figures showing that the number of new apprenticeships in England increased by around two-thirds to almost half a million last year were welcomed by the Government today.

Growth took place at all levels of learning, for every age range across the whole country, said the Business Department.

The figures showed there were 457,200 apprenticeship starts in the 2010/11 academic year, an increase of 63.5% on the previous 12 months.

Skills Minister John Hayes said: “Clarity of policy, strength of commitment and certainty of purpose has delivered record numbers of apprenticeship starts, outstanding success rates and growth across all sectors.

“This success, mirrored in every English region, is putting businesses on stronger ground to deliver a more balanced economy. It is equipping young people with the skills that build prosperous careers, and forging communities in which the common good is served through creative endeavour and purposeful pride.”

More young people than ever are starting their working lives burdened with debt, with ever-rising bills to pay and student loans of thousands of pounds hanging over them.

The effects of spiralling borrowing are an urgent problem for everyone. But in the month that the nation’s overdraft hit a staggering trillion pounds, Financial Mail begins following the story of one twenty-something woman drowning in debt and her mission to recover from her own credit crisis.

Her highly personal account will appear weekly in a new feature, Diary of a Young Debtor, on Financial Mail’s sister website fmwf.com, with comments from experts on her progress and pitfalls.

She will report on strategies from switching credit cards to take advantage of a nought per cent interest offer to more desperate measures such as selling every possession she can spare.

Our anonymous blogger says: ‘I didn’t think I was a reckless person, but somehow my debts have got out of control. My New Year’s resolution is to get back in the black within a year. I know I have left it a bit late!

‘I’m clearly no expert at staying in credit, but I will be learning as I go along and I hope others will learn with me.’

>> To follow Diary of a Young Debtor on Twitter: @diaryofadebtor

Here they are:

Current account overdraft limit: £1,500.

Current account balance: Minus £1,386. Credit available: £114.

Credit card limit: £3,750.

Credit card balance: Minus £3,646. Credit available: £104.

Bank loan: £1,799. Possibility of extending the loan: Nil.

Student loan: I have no idea! Huge, probably.

Savings account: 43p (In credit. Hurrah!).

Oyster card balance for travel to work: Zero.

Fridge: Empty.

What a mess! It looks blatantly alarming when you write it down like this, but this is the first time I really have.

For the past few months I have had to pay my rent on a credit card and I have been getting whacked with interest payments and charges on my current account.

It is embarrassing to admit this, but I have got myself into this situation where I pay for everything through loans and credit cards, and it has now reached a breaking point.

I cannot pay next month’s rent on my credit card again as I am almost at the limit. I have already taken out a loan and the bank will not let me extend it. And they won’t let me extend my overdraft, which I am permanently living in, either.

How have I got myself into this mess? My financial situation hasn’t suddenly changed … other than that I have reached the point where the bank says ‘no’. Thankfully, I still have a job.

I don’t think I have an extravagant lifestyle, but I admit I have been sleepwalking into a spiral of ever-increasing debt. I didn’t think I was a reckless person. My bank statement says otherwise.

It is not as if I have been out buying expensive clothes and shoes. I haven’t been out drinking until the early hours (OK, I have a little bit). I don’t run a car.

The problem is I never got out of living in my £2,000 interest-free overdraft after I finished university. And as that interest-free overdraft limit shrank when the bank gradually withdrew it, my outgoings stayed the same. The high cost of living and renting in London has kept me overdrawn. (London did it, it wasn’t me!).

Now I have a £1,500 overdraft (thanks to the bank agreeing not to remove it), but it is no longer interest free. I pay about £20 a month interest on the current account and charges on top of that. For example my current account charges, due out later this month, are £92.87 (£50 informal overdraft fees, £25 fee for a rent payment which bounced and £17.87 interest). I pay about £65 per month to pay off my bank loan and £70 per month credit card payments (£50 of which is interest). Paying fees like these over the past year has gradually tipped me further and further into the red.

Yes, I know. It is my fault. And I am going to do something about it.

Now I am on a mission to get out of debt within a year and I will share the journey through this blog. It is all very embarrassing. But if I learn anything from this, then you can learn with me…

>> Follow me on Twitter: @diaryofadebtor

 >> Here are some tweets I have received about this diary entry. Thanks for your encouragement…

@debtology: Hi there! Keen to hear more about what you plan.

@debtology: Here are a few suggestions on who to follow @Zerocredit_UK @BDACBristol @jrf_uk @Gemma_Payplan @MoneySaviour @paullewismoney

@debtology: More: @martynsaville @JohnHolmstrom @stellacreasy @CAPuk @DAVIDJONES_dpaj @faiselr @nacasadvice @patrickhopedown @WorldBank

@meandmyshapes: very brave and inspiring to reveal all. Good luck and I look forward to learning some penny saving tips myself!

@debtology: Today’s first #FF @diaryofadebtor Relative newcomer to Twitter but an interesting story. One to follow for the future we think. Take a peek.

@gemma_payplan: I second that.

@garethcare: Really interesting to follow @diaryofadebtor and read the blog http://bit.ly/z0uW3w - Has society consigned the young to debt?

@garethcare: I’m on your side in all of this. Been in debt myself- not a good feeling. I’ll follow your quest with interest (excuse pun)

@debt_s_trust: good luck! We’ll be following and supporting you along the way! You can do it : -)

@bob_banni: look up http://capmoney.org/ they have really helped a friend of mine.

Ben, 31, not his real name, has realised he needs professional help and has called National Debtline, run by the charity Money Advice Trust.

At the other end of the phone at the National Debtline call centre in Birmingham is Josh Parkes. His job is to help Ben understand his options and to help him get himself out of the crisis. Ben is far from alone. The combination of credit crunch, recession and financial austerity means that hundreds of thousands of people are facing significant debt troubles.

By the time Ben rings at 11.30am, Josh has dealt with seven other calls. By the end of the day, Josh, 28, who has worked there for three years, and his fellow advisers will have handled about 1,000 enquiries.

National Debtline is one of three national charities that provide professional and free help to tackle debt problems (click here for more).

Una Farrell of the Consumer Credit Counselling Service charity says: ‘Borrowers used to get in touch because they had lost their job or got divorced, but now we see a lot more people who have had pay frozen or their hours cut and find debt has been a gradual accumulation of factors.’

In Ben’s case, his options are limited.He has lost a job in engineering and is struggling to adapt to his new circumstances. Josh quizzes him on his outgoings to build up a monthly budget statement.

Even though Ben is single and has no dependants, the cost of his rent and basic household bills still outstrips his benefits. And each month his debt is creeping up. As he tells Josh: ‘I thought I was on top of it, then I found I wasn’t.’

Ben wants to know what the worst situation might be. Josh sketches out the pros and cons of a bankruptcy and arranges for factsheets and copies of the monthly budget statements to be sent out. Borrowers often leave it too late to ask for help. In Ben’s case, some of the problems might have been averted if he had called earlier.

Debts with credit cards, store cards and personal loans are still the most frequent problems for borrowers. But other issues are becoming more common.

David Cheadle, who runs the National Debtline call centre, says: ‘More people are having problems with short-term payday loans because of high interest charges.’

Another growing problem is debt from essential household outgoings, with families struggling to keep on top of last year’s big rises in energy costs. Household bills now account for about one quarter of all debt problems, says Citizens Advice.

Vicki Smith, 47 and pictured above, turned to National Debtline last summer after running up debts on a string of credit cards and a £10,000 personal loan. ‘It was my fault,’ she says. ‘I just like spending and I’m the sort of person who should never have a credit card.’

At its worst, £500 of her £650 a month earnings from her job as a part-time care worker was going on debt interest. This left little to help boost the family finances. Vicki and husband Tony, 53, have two daughters, Alex, 14, and ten year-old Clare.

Vicki entered a debt repayment plan through an agency – paying £42 a month for the privilege – but this failed to cap her interest or halt calls from lenders. National Debtline arranged an effective repayment plan with her main creditors and she now pays £216 a month, with the money split between the lenders.

Vicki, from Portishead, Somerset, says: ‘Debtline helped me to prioritise which debts should be paid. I’m not getting the aggressive calls for payment any more.’

While borrowers face their struggles, the debt charities have their challenges too. One is coping with the massive increase in calls when their own funding is under pressure.

National Debtline gets about a third of its running costs from the Government and the rest from lenders. Cheadle says: ‘The Government and banks are under pressure and there is a bit more uncertainty in our funding. We are looking to broaden our sources of income, for example by talking to utility companies.’

>> For advice on how to tackle your debt click here.