As one of 318 students across the city given the opportunity to complete the Pupils First Junior Intermediate Labour Market placement scheme (JILM), James Ingram has been snapped up by the region's top premier training provider, Rolls-Royce.

The Rolls-Royce Training Centre has offered James, 16, a place on its engineering apprenticeship programme.

During his three-year apprenticeship, the teenager will divide his time between academic learning at Newcastle College and on-the-job practical training at the Rolls-Royce Training Centre.

Tony Beeton, operations manager at Rolls-Royce, said: "Young, enthusiastic school-leavers need clear, constructive and decisive guidance to enable them to make the all-important transition into the adult world of work.

"For some, the ideal way forward is higher education and university.

"For many more, the ideal solution is to develop their natural abilities and give them the potential to develop into highly skilled engineers and technicians."

Once James has completed his apprenticeship, he will become an NVQ Level 3 qualified engineer.

James said: "The Rolls-Royce apprenticeship is an incredible opportunity for me. Engineering is something that I have always been interested in and is something that I have always wanted to do."