A former Labour transport secretary has thrown his weight behind a newspaper’s campaign to encourage firms to take on more apprentices.

Lord Adonis has spoken up in support of The Journal’s Proud to Back Apprenticeships campaign, calling it a blueprint for other regions to follow.

The Trinity Mirror daily launched the campaign in September in a bid to close the North-East’s growing “skills gap.”

It published an open letter challenging businesses to do more to addresss the issue and play their part in up-skilling the region’s workforce.

Lord Adonis said:  “I strongly support The Journal’s campaign for more young apprentices. The biggest challenge we face as a country is overcoming youth unemployment.

“Apprentices are vital to providing young people with a decent living. But we need every company to be offering apprenticeships.

“Many leading employers in the North East are offering brilliant opportunities for apprentices but we now this to become the norm.

“I applaud The Journal for encouraging companies to take on apprentices and I think a campaign like this should be adopted by the other UK regions.”