Business leaders and representatives from government launched a new employer-led national apprenticeship scheme designed to fill crucial skills shortages and help the UK respond to economic challenges of the future.

Education secretary Ruth Kelly, Learning and Skills Council (LSC) chairman Chris Banks and MPs Ivan Lewis and Phil Hope joined executives from companies such as British Gas, BUPA, the Co-operative Group and Vodafone to inaugurate the Apprenticeship Ambassadors Network.

The scheme is sponsored by the Department for Education and Skills (DfES), the Department for Trade and Industry (DTI), HM Treasury, the LSC and the Sector Skills Development Agency (SSDA), and aims to rebuild a national apprenticeship programme that Lewis said has been “decimated in this country”.

The notion of the job for life is dead, Lewis said, and employability for life is central to shaping the UK workforce to compete in the future global marketplace.

There are currently 255,500 young people between ages 16 and 24 undertaking apprenticeships from over 180 career paths in 80 different sectors.

The new network will aim to build on this success by promoting the value of apprenticeships to employers, according to its chief Sir Roy Gardner. Businesses must know how apprentices can boost their productivity but also how they as employers can support them.

Gardner said his goal is for the network to recruit 500 new apprentices and achieve a 90% completion rate amongst participants. Initially he hopes to target sectors, such as hospitality, in which the take-up of apprenticeships is low.

Kaye Dewsnap, 19, recently completed her apprenticeship in the motor and vehicle trade.

“I knew since I was 7 that I wanted to be a mechanic,” she said. “My apprenticeship programme has given me the skills and confidence I needed to succeed. Now I can’t wait to get my hands dirty.”

Dewsnap’s programme, like all apprenticeships, consisted of three levels. For her motor and vehicle training, Dewsnap’s level one course consisted of health and safety training, followed by level two hands-on courses dealing with servicing faults.

Dewsnap was diagnosed with cancer following her level two training, but she recovered, and after regaining her strength, she completed her level three training in diagnosing faults and won the Personal Achiever of the Year Award at the LSC’s national Apprenticeship Awards.

She is now working at Lockwood & Greenwood Nissan in Greater Manchester and in the future says she would like to open her own garage.