Apprenticeships are no longer the domain of fresh-faced youths embarking on their working life.

One major Bradford-based company views the hands-on training schemes as suitable for people of all ages, from school-leavers to older people seeking a career change or new employment following redundancy.

Yorkshire Water is recruiting its second batch of apprentices. Recruiters are braced for a flood of applications from hopefuls – even more so as the YW scheme guarantees the trainees a designated job.

Ilkley-based building services group NG Bailey was deluged with 4,000 applicants for just 50 engineering apprenticeships.

And the scramble for work is expected to be mirrored at Bradford housing group Incommunities as it recruits trainees for a range of work. The group is also looking to establish a training academy, probably in partnership with local businesses.

NG Bailey’s latest batch of maintenance division apprentices will spend time at the company’s engineering academy in Leeds, which has trained about 5,000 apprentices since 1969.

Maintenance business boss Stuart Liningtog said: “My first job was as an apprentice and it gave me a strong grounding. I learned a lot – it offered a rare insight into the world of building maintenance.”

Another innovation by a Bradford company is in the professional sector, which is less associated with apprenticeships.

And its not just manufacturing where apprenticeships are relevant.

Paul Ayre, head of Bradford and Leeds law firm Gordons, has devised a new annual training scheme for people with ambition to become lawyers without going to university.

Gordons is talking with schools and colleges to find five youngsters, who might otherwise find it difficult to enter the legal profession, to join its new apprentices programme. From September, Gordons will recruit apprentices each year, pay them salaries and fund their training as legal executives.

Mr Ayre was inspired after seeing the BBC programme Who Gets The Best Jobs? which examined how privilege effects access to professions in Britain.

He said: “The programme highlighted that social mobility in Britain reduced over the past 20 years. The legal profession has many barriers to entry which effect people who have the ability to forge successful careers in the law. One such barrier is the need to be university educated.”

Yorkshire Water, which employs more than 2,000 staff locally, will start recruiting its next intake of apprentices through its website from Monday.

The firm is seeking 11 recruits who will be guaranteed a job in various parts of the business.

The move comes as latest figures show that nearly one million 16-to-24-year-olds are currently out of work.

Apprentices will train in a range of skills and will be supported by a mentor or ‘buddy’ from relevant departments.

Pamela Rogerson, director of human resources, said: “We view schemes like this as being vital to the development of our business, introducing new people with fresh ideas and developing talent to ensure we continue to provide our 4.4 million customers with high-quality service.”

Bradford East MP David Ward, who recently met apprentices at the Esholt waste water treatment works, said: “More than 80 per cent of businesses which offer apprenticeships consider them essential to developing the skills they need for them to thrive.

I would urge every business which does not currently offer apprenticeships to join this programme.”

A key reason for YW’s training scheme is to ensure succession planning in the organisation – current chief executive Richard Flint began as an apprentice.

Steve Stanyon, networks operational asset manager, said: “Many of our activities are unique and it is important to have continuity of skills to ensure we can maintain our high level of performance.”

He believes that the rise in university fees and the tough economic climate will increase the take-up of the company’s apprenticeship scheme this year.

Bradford-based supermarket group Morrisons is a UK leader in apprenticeships – which recently saw it named the UK’s best retail employer for its commitment to training.

Morrisons has launched its own academy and aims to train all 40,000 of its 16-to-24-year-old employees to achieve a QCF Level 2 retail skills qualification.

Morrisons plans to train more than 12,000 apprentices this year and plays a pivotal role in providing work in an industry where a third of all staff are under 25.

Airedale International Air Conditioning recently invested £500,000 in a state-of-the-art training centre in Rawdon to provide the next generation of skilled installation and service engineers.

Steve Joyce, HR director of the £40 million-turnover company, said: “Manufacturing is sitting on a demographic time bomb and it is crucial we continue to renew the pool of engineering skills to secure our future.

“A substantial proportion of our 370-strong skilled workforce is aged 55 or over and it is vital we have a strategy in place for replacing those skills.

“The training centre will also be used to advance skills for existing employees and is already training engineers from other companies, including BT.”

Airedale, which was founded in 1974 by two former Bradford engineering apprentices Peter Midgeley and Alan Duttine, has also earmarked a further £1.5 million for expansion of its on-site test centre.

The Government recently said it would increase skills funding to more than £1.4 billion to train more than 300,000 apprentices. Recent figures showed that there was a 19 per cent rise to 2,720 youngsters starting apprenticeships in 2009-10.

A new apprenticeship scheme has been launched by Keighley -based Autoclaves Group, which manufactures and refurbishes autoclaves and ovens, to provide skilled people to handle future growth.

Managing director Russell Gibson said: “For the UK to compete globally, we must make certain that our world-class knowledge-base continues to evolve.”

Bradford councillor David Green, who is responsible for regeneration, said the local authority was working with firms to try to expand employment opportunities and with schools and colleges to create awareness of apprenticeships as an option, other than A-levels and university.

“There’s a lot of enthusiasm out there among young people for apprenticeships, and we need to make it as easy as possible for apprenticeships to be offered, not just by big firms, but smaller ones as well,” he said.