IF I asked you to draw a picture of an apprentice what would it look like?

When I put that question to colleagues in the Echo offices most people conjured up the traditional image of a teenage lad, wearing navy blue overalls, working on the shop floor of a factory. That might have been an accurate portrayal 20 or 30 years ago, but things have changed.

Nowadays 55 per cent of apprentices are female. Engineering and manufacturing are still among the industries where apprenticeships are most common, but so is law, accountancy, business administration, hairdressing, retail, healthcare, and IT.

This is all a step in the right direction. If we are to convince young people that apprenticeships are as valid a route into work as a university degree then they must be offered apprenticeships in as many professions as possible.

Those who complete a Level 2 apprenticeship in many industries will earn between £48,000 and £74,000 more during their lifetime than people who don't have similar qualifications. And those who have completed a Level 3 scheme (equivalent of A-levels) will earn between £77,000 and £117,000 more. When you add the fact that apprentices avoid the burden of tuition fees then the workplace training route becomes even more compelling.

One statistic that is troubling, however, is that 44 per cent of people who began apprenticeships last year were aged 25 or over. In principle there is nothing wrong that the average age profile of apprentices is rising. Ensuring that staff are offered high quality training at all stages of their career is undoubtedly a good thing. But among 16 to 19 year olds the number of apprenticeships decreased last year by 10,000.

The government has made a lot of noise about the increase in apprenticeships, but the general trend shows little or no increase in overall numbers of teenage apprentices since 2010.

Several workplace training schemes undertaken by more mature workers have been lumped in to the apprenticeship pot, putting a nice sheen on the figures, but doing little to address a skills timebomb that threatens key industries, such as advanced manufacturing and construction, when older staff retire.

There are also systemic problems that need to be addressed, such as ensuring education and industry work more closely, and that careers advice in schools is adequately funded.

And if apprentices are to be on a par with graduates then why don’t they get a full-fledged graduation ceremony to mark their achievements?

National Apprenticeship Week runs until Friday, to celebrate apprenticeships and the positive impact they have on individuals, businesses and the wider economy. The Northern Echo fully supports these efforts.

But it is also a time to call for improvements that ensure young people get the start to working life that they deserve.

Follow me on Twitter @bizecho